A senior Malaysian politician has apologised for parading a knife at ruling-party meetings, acknowledging it had upset minority racial communities who later punished the government at elections held last month.

Hishammuddin Hussein, youth-wing leader of main ruling party the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has for the past several years opened the party's annual assembly by unsheathing and kissing a traditional Malay dagger, symbol of the party.

Non-Malay communities were uncomfortable with the gesture, especially ethnic Chinese who felt it was aimed at them, a symbol of Malay chauvinism and a reminder of deadly race riots in 1969 when Malays and Chinese attacked each other with knives.

"I apologise if this has affected anybody. I apologise to the non-Malays if they felt afraid of the symbol," Hishammuddin was quoted as telling reporters after chairing a meeting on Friday of the ruling coalition, which includes an ethnic Chinese party.

"I told them I am responsible for what happened if it had in any way affected our (electoral) performance," he was quoted as saying in Saturday's New Straits Times.

A recent front-page editorial in the New Straits Times partly blamed Hishammuddin's kissing of the traditional Malay kris for fuelling the savage electoral backlash felt by the National Front coalition at general elections on March 8.

The coalition held onto power but suffered the worst electoral setback in its 50-year reign. Ethnic Chinese and Indians deserted the coalition, robbing it of its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time in nearly 40 years and handing an unprecedented five states to opposition control.