KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — The Malay Dignity Congress was called racist over the attendees’ incendiary comments rather than their ethnicity, Khalid Samad said today.

The Amanah leader was commenting on a report of Prime Minister and Bersatu chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad complaining the congress was called racist allegedly for being a meeting of the Malay community’s leaders.

"The gathering is not the problem but the content. All races, even clans, have gatherings amongst themselves to discuss their problems and how to improve their position and that of the nation.

"But when it works to create racial hatred and strife, then it becomes racist,” Khalid posted on Twitter today.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir wrote a blog post defending the congress and its organiser by arguing that other ethnic communities have held similar gatherings without inviting accusations of racism.

Also yesterday, police called in the chief executive of the congress’s secretariat Prof Emeritus Datuk Zainal Kling for investigation under Section 505b of Penal Code for causing public mischief and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Dr Mahathir was the guest of honour at the congress co-organised by four public universities and held on October 6.

Other notable attendees included Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.