The former prime minister said a Pejuang-dominated government will support democratic principles and the rule of law, and reject and criminalise any form of abuse of authority and corruption by the government.

He said Malay-dominated governments had granted non-Malays certain privileges that other multiracial countries did not.

As a result, other races were permitted to keep their identification with their countries of origin, languages, cultures, schools and so on.

“This is our pledge. Supporting Pejuang is supporting Malaysia and Malaysians.

“While the Malays can hope to catch up, the others will not lose their places and opportunities,” he said in a blog post.

Mahathir said since Malays constituted the majority of the population, they served as the government’s backbone, adding that Malaysia had been governed by “multiracial but primarily Malay governments” since independence.

He said Malaysian liberalism towards non-Malays was unmatched and that conflict between people of various ethnicities was rare.

“Malaysia is much more stable and peaceful than many other multiracial countries or even single-ethnic countries in the world,” he said.