Its acting president Mohideen Abdul Kader said it would only hurt the country in a volatile period when the US-China trade war appears to be escalating.

Mohideen doubts the campaign will improve the economy of the Muslims as envisioned by campaign promoters. Rather, he said, it would cause more suffering in the end.

The “Beli Produk Muslim dulu” campaign began on social media, with the Muslim community urged to avoid buying products made by businesses owned by non-Muslims.

“We are facing challenging times, the world is in a turbulent state with the current trade war. Why are we talking about this? We should be talking about ways to improve our economy, not creating further divisions.

“There are many people suffering, unable to pay their loans and the B40 group is having financial trouble. The call is unwarranted and unrealistic.You must remember that all of us, Muslims or non-Muslims, are all in some ways connected,” he said.

Mohideen said the campaign would only “intensify communal misunderstanding” as Muslims and non-Muslims had freely traded among themselves since time immemorial.

“Politicians should not look at this campaign opportunistically, just to win the support of one community. We should put aside our political differences and work together to put our country on a strong footing and unite,” he said.

PAS and the Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin have defended the campaign in support of products made by Muslims, saying it was aimed at strengthening the economic power of Muslims and giving them a competitive edge.

Of late, there has been rising concerns about support for political parties based on race and religion.

PAS has long been at loggerheads with the urban-based secularist DAP, describing the Chinese majority party as racist, and urging Muslims to unite for the sake of race and religion.

The campaign has been condemned by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, among many others.