Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Friday it would be "best" for Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam to resign as increasingly violent protests continue to rock the territory.

Mahathir also said he believes that China will eventually crack down on the unrest, which was sparked by Lam's move to introduce a much-despised bill.

Responding to a question from a Hong Kong delegate at an international law conference held in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, he said that Lam is caught in a "dilemma" in which she has no choice but to "obey the masters," in apparent reference to Beijing's support for the now-suspended extradition bill.

"At the same time, she has to ask her conscience. Her conscience says that the people of Hong Kong are right in rejecting the law, but on the other hand she knows the consequence of rejecting the law," he added.

(File photo shows Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.)

"Yes, they allow you to demonstrate and all that but eventually, it's a system that is authoritarian," said Mahathir, who drew parallels between the months-long unrest in Hong Kong and the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

He predicted that the Chinese authorities will eventually send in troops to deal with the protests, saying, "I think in the end, that is what China will do, but for the administrator, I think the best thing is (for her) to resign."

Millions of people have taken to the streets of Hong Kong since June in protest against the bill, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China.

The protesters' demands have widened to include an independent inquiry into police use of violent tactics against protesters, pardons for all those arrested and democratic reform.

While most protests have been peaceful, violent clashes with police have become more frequent, posing the greatest challenge to China's rule over the semi-autonomous region since the British handover in 1997.

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