(AFP) Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reassured the Chinese community and other non-Malays of their rights in an Islamic Malaysia today.

Mahathir was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying the government recognised all races in Malaysia and that all of them were represented in the country's 13-party ruling coalition.

The premier was also quoted by local papers as telling the Chinese community that it should not be worried by the government's recent declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state.

'Categorical undertaking'

Mahathir gave the Chinese a "categorical undertaking" that their rights as citizens under the constitution would not be taken away, the New Sunday Times reported.

"An Islamic state doesn't mean there is no place, no freedom for those who are non-Muslims," he told a large gathering of influential Chinese Malaysians.

The prime minister has several times recently described Malaysia as an Islamic state while defending the government against charges by PAS that it was not Islamic enough.

He told the meeting that PAS was trying to "cheat" non-Muslims by not pointing out what kind of Islam it wanted in the country.

"I suspect that the Islamic state they want will be like the Taliban where women have to cover up from head to toe, are denied education and where non-Muslims are discriminated," he was quoted as saying.

Yesterday, Mahathir said the government would crack down on Islamic extremists because it did not want Malaysia's people to be oppressed like those in Afghanistan.

"We will fight to the end these factions which oppose Islamic teachings because we don't want the people in our country to be oppressed like the people of Afghanistan," he said, adding that the government's conscience was clear that it was runnning the country in the correct Islamic way.