Najib posted a photographic montage of Mahathir using chopsticks, apparently to toss “yee sang” at a Chinese New Year event, and made a one-line riposte to Mahathir with the remark “Expert skill”. The photographs were not dated.

Mahathir has also come under fire from his former Pakatan Harapan colleagues for saying that the Chinese had maintained their culture and way of life in Malaysia, citing the use of chopsticks instead of “adopting the Malaysian way of eating” with one’s hands.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who was finance minister in Mahathir’s government, said Mahathir’s comments were both simplistic and offensive to the Chinese.

“Does that mean a Malay using chopsticks or fork and spoon loses his Malay-ness? In fact, many non-Chinese Malaysians and Westerners are proud of their ability to use both without any loss of their national identity,” Lim said, pointing out that non-Malays should be integrated, not assimilated, into Malaysia.