Razak, who heads the Centre for Global Affairs (Icon), said Malaysian politics was essentially racial and would remain so until someone or some group came along to break the pattern. So far no party had shown an aspiration to do so, he added.

“If anyone thinks otherwise, then that person has been sleeping all this while or does not understand the nature of Malaysian politics,” he told FMT.

With the exception of PSM, he said, every political organisation in the country was trying to cater to a particular race.

“You can disguise DAP anyway you want. You can put a token Malay or a token Indian guy in there if you want to, but DAP is catering to the needs of the Chinese. Similarly, PKR may have a sprinkle of Chinese and Indian members here and there, but it is a Malay-based party.”

He said Umno had no other choice as a political party but to champion the aspirations of the Malays. This meant that it had also to champion Muslim interests, he added.

“The Chinese are not going to vote for Umno. So if Umno wants to survive, it’s got to get the support of the Malays. And since the line between Malay and Muslim is blur, obviously it’s going to be pushing for the Malay and Muslim agendas.”

Addressing critics who say Prime Minister Najib Razak seemed two-faced for championing the Malays when speaking to them and championing the Indians when addressing them, Razak said Najib’s position as prime minister was the reason for this.

“The prime minister wears many hats,” he said. “When he’s trying to woo the Indian voters, he is wearing the Barisan Nasional hat. When he’s trying to woo the Malay voters, he is wearing the Umno hat, and that’s when he is as Malay as anyone can get.”