Just months after a stunning election victory, Malaysia's prime minister has had to step in to mollify the country's majority Malay Muslims in recent weeks, underlining a weighty challenge confronting his multiethnic, reformist coalition: race.
When riots erupted at a Hindu temple outside the capital, Kuala Lumpur, last week, 93-year-old Mahathir Mohamad spared no effort to scotch speculation that tensions with Malays were to blame.
Just a few days earlier, his government reversed its pledge to ratify a U.N. convention against racial discrimination following a backlash from groups who argued that it would dilute privileges Malays have enjoyed for decades.