But now Khalid seems anxious to correct any impression anyone may have that he and Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali share the same understanding of the meaning of love.

Ibrahim had said that he felt vindicated by Khalid’s statement, which was made in defence of Parti Pribumi Bersatu’s decision to restrict its membership to Bumiputeras.

In an interview with FMT, Khalid said he and Ibrahim were talking about different things. He said Ibrahim had shown by his rhetoric that he took “loving one’s race” to mean “developing the Malays at the expense of other races”.

“Loving your race,” Khalid said, “is a natural and positive thing. If you want your race to be the best, that’s fine, but it cannot be at the expense of others. When you spread hatred against other races and create ill will among races, now that is racist.”

He said anyone who wanted his race to excel must try to ensure that his people embrace the best values, including the values of fairness and justice.

This was what he hoped Bersatu would go on to achieve through its platform, he added.

“If all race-based organisations are racist,” he said, “then the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor could be labelled as racist, and this is obviously not the case.

“Racism is negative, but loving your race is a positive thing. It’s all about how it is manifested or acted upon.”

Ibrahim was one of the first public figures to react to the statement Khalid made on Tuesday. Noting that Khalid had said “loving one’s race is not racist”, he said this proved that those who called him a racist were wrong.

“When I said the same thing, people called me a racist, but now that Khalid Samad has said it, I’m sure people will finally understand,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying.