Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stressed on the need for Muslims in Malaysia to go back to the original, true teachings as a prerequisite for the nation to forge ahead.

At the same time, he also appealed to Muslims worldwide to embrace values such "peace, friendship, brotherhood and tolerance of people".

Mahathir was responding to callers and emails from all over the world in an interactive interview he gave to the BBC's Talking Point programme at his office in Kuala Lumpur.

Elaborating, the premier said that even among Christians, there were different interpretations which led to some quarters taking very extreme action.

"The same thing is happening with the Muslims. We have people who are making interpretations which are contrary to the true teachings of Islam," he said.

Malaysia, he said, did not have a problem with Islamic militants because it had acted to stop the "teaching of the politics of hatred" in religious schools.

"We are very vigilant and know what is happening," he said, adding that the country's tough Internal Security Act had not been passed "just for fun".

At the same time, he added, there was a "clash of civilisations" between Islamic and other states.

"It is a lack of understanding of Islam that has led to this present situation," he said.

But he admitted that there was a problem within Islam with "wrong" interpretations of Islamic teachings.

"The result is that Islam appears to be an obstruction to progress," he said, adding that he believed there was a need for better unity within the Muslim world.

'Campaign of hate'

Mahathir, scheduled to retire at the end of this month, also took a dig at the opposition PAS saying that the party was carrying out a "campaign of hate".

On PAS' claims that the government is curtailing the freedom of expression by making things difficult for its party organ, Harakah , he said that "they have been distributing ( Harakah ) all over the country - it's illegal but we have never taken action against them.

And they meet - almost very night, there will be any number of talks given by them all over the country. To say that we stop them is sheer nonsense and they are able to influence people with their campaign of hate."

He told the programme's host, Lyse Doucet, that "horrible things" would happen if "wrong people" such as PAS leaders were to rule the country.

On PAS' electoral victories in two states (Kelantan and Terengganu), Mahathir said it was due to the support of "people who do not know how to distinguish between good and bad".

"It was the circumstances - there were times when we beat them hollow, there are other times when they win - they made use of certain issues in order to get popular votes - this will happen all the time, that's what democracy is all about," he said.

'No first class'

He also said the special rights accorded bumiputeras were not entirely based on race, but it is a fact that bumiputras are far behind the others. He warned that the disparity will lead to tension within the community and can end up with violence.

Replying to another question from a Chinese Malaysian - who felt himself as a 'second class citizen' and called for a equal treatment, the prime minister once again dismissed the claim.

"Well the Malays feel that they are second class citizens despite all their privileges because they are the poor people. They have to work as drivers for the very rich Chinese. So they are second class - so both are second class, there's no first class."

Other topics included in the interview include the Anwar Ibrahim saga and that of his designated successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.