Mahathir talks about race

Mahathir talks about race

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday that Malaysia's racial groups needed to settle their differences behind closed doors because an open debate could lead to violence.

"If we were to hold an open debate, inevitably emotions will get out of control and most likely racial riots will occur, and this will not benefit anyone," Mahathir was quoted as telling a political meeting by national news agency Bernama.

The prescription for racial harmony follows renewed tension between the majority Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese, who have lived in a peaceful but at times uneasy coexistence since bloody riots in 1969.

The tension followed public urgings by some Chinese organizations for an end to race-based affirmative action policies favoring ethnic Malays in jobs, housing, bank loans and education, implemented after the 1969 riots to lift Malays out of traditional poverty.