Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad should apologise to the Selangor and Johor rulers for his "Bugis remark", DAP's Skudai assemblyperson Dr Boo Cheng Hau said today.

The DAP lawmaker said it was wrong for Mahathir to claim that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had "Bugis pirates" as ancestors.

Likewise, Boo said, it was wrong for Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to turn Mahathir's Indian ancestry into a political issue.

"Their communal slurs have caused great discomforts, and they are seen to encourage tribalism and deepen divisions among Malaysians of various ancestries.

"Harapan should... unite Malaysians of all ethnicities by not falling into BN's and Umno's communal and racial rhetoric," Boo said in a statement.

In view of this, he added, both Zahid and Mahathir should apologise to the public.

Boo urged Malaysians to elect representatives with integrity, capability and qualities, instead of their ancestry.

He also urged Harapan to unite Malaysians and focus on "bread and butter" issues instead of indulging in racial remarks.

"DAP itself should stand firm on the Malaysian Malaysia principle of non-racial politics and racial integration," he said.

In July, Zahid said he had sighted a copy of Mahathir's original identity card, which had the name "Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty", to cast doubts about the latter's Malay heritage.

Last month, Mahathir made reference to Najib's Bugis ancestry and piracy to underscore the basis behind Harapan's "anti-kleptocracy" campaign.

Following this, several groups claimed that Mahathir's "Bugis pirate" remark had insulted the entire Bugis community.

The Selangor palace also took this as an insult and recommended that Mahathir be investigated for sedition.