In a statement, Cenbet co-president Gan Ping Sieu said by “caving in” to demands and pressure from extremists, the government risked making such people “more bold with their divisive agendas”.

“The government should not be held ransom by racists and bigots when it comes to the proposal to reintroduce local elections,” he said.

“The government’s role and responsibility is to manage such fissures, including using the full force of the law to act against agent provocateurs.”

Noting that Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s announcement followed the government’s decision not to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the police directive to postpone last week’s Human Rights Day celebrations, he said extremism should not be allowed to take root and spread in a moderate, plural country like Malaysia.

Mahathir had said local council elections might produce “the wrong results” as there would likely be conflict between urban and rural areas.

This was despite Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin saying in July that her ministry intended to hold local government elections in three years’ time.

However, she said such elections could only be done after the nation’s finances and economy stabilise.

Gan said many senior PH leaders had in the past promoted the idea of reintroducing local elections.

He urged the PH government not to dial back on its reform agenda based on the “excuse” of racial strife.

“At a time when the public demands greater transparency and accountability, reintroducing the third vote is a natural progression,” he added.