Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has warned that it would not be wise to incur the wrath of a Bugis warrior.

Najib, who is of Bugis descent himself, said this at a gathering of silat masters in Gombak, Selangor, yesterday.

"Jangan main-main dengan pendekar Bugis (don't antagonise the Bugis warrior).

"Whoever that hurts the pride of the Bugis people, he gets his comeuppance soon," he was quoted as saying by Astro Awani.

According to the report, Najib was speaking at the Majlis Himpunan Raksasa Guru-Guru Silat 2018, which was attended by about 5,000 silat practitioners.

'Be loyal to PM, not Najib'

Najib - whose ancestry can be traced to Gowa, South Suluwesi, which is now part of modern Indonesia - has often referred to himself as a "Bugis warrior".

However, his chief critic Dr Mahathir Mohamad labelled him a "descendant of Bugis pirates" in relation to allegations that 1MDB funds were pilfered.

Mahathir's remarks courted the wrath of both the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who have Bugis lineage.

The sultans accused the former prime minister of insulting the entire Bugis community, paving the way for the police to investigate Mahathir under the Sedition Act.

Mahathir denied the accusation, arguing that he was only targeting Najib.

Meanwhile, Najib told his audience that he was impressed by how silat practitioners showed wala (loyalty) towards their leaders.

"If we are loyal, we will not argue among ourselves. If we are loyal, orders will be carried out. If we are loyal, there will not be boycotts and (we will not) shoot ourselves in the foot, (carry out) sabotages and other issues.

"When I ask for your loyalty, I'm not doing it as Najib Razak... but (I ask for loyalty to) the position of chief executive of our beloved country," he said.

During the event, Najib was flanked by two close allies, Senator Megat Zulkarnain Omardin and former Malacca chief minister Mohd Ali Rustam.