The group of former prominent civil servants said this was especially so as such speeches are used at political meetings and election rallies to deliberately insult other races and religions.

“Although the intention is sometimes to play to the gallery, it is nevertheless a dangerous game.

“There should be tough laws on hate speeches, with safeguards to protect our fundamental right to freedom of expression,” it said in a statement.

Last Friday, Australian national Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist living in New Zealand, opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch, killing 50 and injuring many others.

A 17-year old Malaysian was among the 50 victims. Another three Malaysians were injured.

G25 went on to say that although Malaysia has progressed since independence to become a “peaceful and fast developing country”, the nation is also faced with extremist ideologies of race and religion.

“We are hopeful we can overcome our internal problems through a broad range of reforms to develop society and the economy.”

G25 said religious radicals have led to social tensions. In most Christian heartlands, this provides neo-Nazis the fear factor they can exploit.

“While advanced countries can accept the humanitarian reasons for taking in immigrants, they worry that among the Muslims, there are religious radicals who reject the western way of life and behave in an ungrateful manner to support the imams and mullahs calling for jihad against the infidels.”