Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has once again trained his guns on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

However, the sultan denied that the Malay rulers were exacting a royal vendetta or that he is influenced by those opposed to the 92-year-old former prime minister.

“He (Mahathir) is an angry man and will burn the whole country with his anger,” Sultan Sharafuddin warned in an exclusive interview with The Star.

The sultan also raised Mahathir's “Bugis pirate” remark again, saying he does not wish to see politicians exploiting race and religious issues that could be detrimental to the nation.

“This is the concern of all the Malay rulers, all nine of us. We have often discussed this during the pre-council meetings that we hold before the Conference of Rulers.

“The rulers are worried. Too many sensitive issues have been exploited for personal gain. Issues like these spread fast on social media and can divide our rakyat,” he said.

Brickbats for his 'Bugis pirate' remark

Apart from courting Sultan Sharafuddin's wrath, Mahathir also received brickbats from Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar over his “Bugis pirate” remark.

Mahathir later claimed that his remarks were targeted at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is of Bugis descent, and not the entire community.

Sultan Sharifuddin also pointed out that Mahathir chose to ignore the rulers' statement on Oct 10 with regard to the Muslim-only laundrette in Johor.

He said the rulers, in their statement, had advised Muslims to be tolerant, moderate and inclusive but Mahathir made his Bugis remark four days later, during a rally in Petaling Jaya.

“I was on my way to perform the umrah when I got to know about the remark.

“I did not want to react blindly. I waited until I returned and spoke to different people who were there and who knew what actually happened. I only spoke after that,” the sultan said.

Dismissing the claim that he was influenced by Mahathir's political adversaries, he said Mahathir should have known better, as a leader who ruled for more than two decades.

Asked if they were taking revenge on Mahathir for curtailing their powers in the 1980s, Sultan Sharifuddin said the rulers do not believe in revenge.

“God is great. He will show to the people. “Back then my father told me, today is his day, tomorrow will be our day,” he added.