As the campaign against Shiites in Malaysia continues, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has taken a contrarian position to speak out against such persecution.

Asked if the persecution should continue, he said: “There are better ways to deal with them.”

With his trademark sarcasm, he said that others, however, find it more convenient to label those who follow a different interpretation of Islam as non-believers.

"Shia ( sic ) and Sunni must fight, of course. Why do you have different interpretations of Islam if it’s not to fight?

“Then we can say they are kafir (non-believers), they will say we are kafir and we fight because you can kill (a) kafir . You can’t kill a fellow Muslim. So you label them as ‘ kafir , kill’,” he said.

NONE Mahathir ( second from right in photo ) said that others would also prefer to put all Shiites in jail.

"All we know is we have to condemn them and throw them into jail. But 250,000 (Shiites in Malaysia) they say... we need a very big jail,” he quipped.

Mahathir’s seemingly gentler stand contrasts with that of his son, Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir, who said the state would gazette a fatwa against Shiites.

He was speaking to reporters after a conference on the Palestinian cause, where it was also highlighted that there are now more and more Palestinian refugees in Malaysia.

According to Palestine Cultural Organisation Malaysia chairperson Muslim Abu Umar, these are people who fled from turmoil-ridden Syria, a neighbouring state to where they initially relocated.

Leeway for Palestinian refugees

Asked on this during the press conference, Mahathir said the government should consider providing special consideration for Palestinian refugees, at least for their children to have access to education.

“I am very concerned about that. We need to ensure that (these) children are able to go to school (to get an education),” he said.

He said that many who come to see him to appeal about the matter, also told him that they are not allowed to work to support their families.

However, he acknowledged that providing leeway to Palestinian refugees is against the law and could in turn attract even more refugees.

“It’s a difficult choice. I can understand why the government wants to stick to the law, but there is also a human disaster here.

“Maybe the private sector can help; (like) give some money for education, and things like that.”