In a recent statement, Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali described the launching events as “too Chinese”.

It also claimed the ceremony, attended by top Chinese officials and Prime Minister Najib Razak, was proof that the country had been “colonised” through its economy.

The RM55 billion, 668km rail link, which will be built and funded by Chinese state firms, is expected to be completed in 2024.

Responding to the criticisms, Nazri accused Perkasa of being small minded and not representing anyone.

“Who are they? They are not important. They are racist and we don’t tolerate racists in this country,” he said at a press conference at I-City here today.

In the statement, Syed Hassan had also said it was unfortunate the emcee of the event spoke in Mandarin.

“Perhaps the person was brought from China. This is the start of denying Bahasa Melayu its status as the national language,” he said.

Nazri, however, said the world had become multilingual and there was nothing wrong with speaking in languages other than Bahasa.

“I’m speaking in English now, they want to condemn me? Go ahead.

“If I had the chance to turn back time, I would have learnt how to speak Mandarin.”