KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA is not yet ready to ditch its race-based political system in favour of parties which represent all ethnic groups, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday.

Mr Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential elections has triggered discussions about whether a minority leader could emerge in Malaysia, which has until now been ruled by a member of the dominant Muslim Malay community.

Dr Mahathir said there is no constitutional barrier preventing an ethnic Chinese or Indian citizen from becoming prime minister.

But he said the country is a long way from abandoning the current system where the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which represents Malays, leads a coalition that includes parties representing other races.

'It doesn't work, every 'multiracial' party is dominated by one race,' Dr Mahathir said after a lecture on Malaysian identity.

'We are still not united if we can't even agree on having a school where all children study together regardless of race, so how can we push aside racial concerns?' Dr Mahathir said.

'Unless people come together and try to have something in common... how can you have a party representing all the different races? You have to have a base first.'

Dr Mahathir's political rival - opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim - has declared his Keadilan party the nation's first multiracial party as its members and supporters are drawn from all three racial groups. -- AFP