“That will only result in the Malays having their congress and talking about closing down Chinese schools and all that.

“You do that kind of thing, and you will get a reaction,” he told reporters during a visit to the media centre at the Kuala Lumpur Summit here.

Dong Jiao Zong represents the United Chinese Schools Teachers’ Association (Jiao Zong) and the United Chinese School Committees’ Association (Dong Zong).

It has reportedly been urging other Chinese groups to register their interest in attending the rally in Kajang on Dec 28.

Mahathir said as a multiracial country, it was important in Malaysia for all races to be considerate about the feelings of others.

“If they want to do that, that is very Chinese – well, the Malays will respond by being very Malay, asking that Chinese schools and all that be closed,” he said.

In other countries, he said, people would take to the streets over such matters.

“If you want Malaysia to be like that, go ahead.”

When asked if Chinese NGOs should attend the rally, Mahathir said: “This is a free country, we allow freedom of speech.

“But we also have to be sensitive towards other races living in this country.”

He said if people began attacking other races or going against the constitution, it would result in chaos and instability.

“Everybody would be poor, and we would see a lot of Malaysians migrating to other countries.”