Mahathir criticizes U.S. travel warning

Mahathir criticizes U.S. travel warning

Agencies, Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday said a renewed U.S. warning that terrorist attacks are possible in Malaysia was borne out of insecurity in Washington about the Iraq war.

Mahathir also likened issuing the warning, contained in a travel advisory this week from the U.S. State Department, to the actions of "tyrants in fear, like Saddam Hussein, who're afraid of (their) own people," the Bernama national news agency reported.

In the advisory, the State Department warned of its "continuing concern" that terrorist attacks similar to last October's nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, which killed 202 people, were still possible in other Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia.

Malaysia's Sabah state was of special concern because of its proximity to the southern Philippines, where the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group "remains a security threat," the advisory said.

It advised Americans planning to travel to Sabah to contact the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur first. The advisory replaced an earlier, similar advisory which expired. It was distributed by the embassy on Wednesday and widely reported in Malaysian media.

Speaking during a trip to Sabah, Mahathir said Friday that Washington had advised Americans not to go there, Bernama reported.

"This is because they felt guilty as they have committed all sorts of actions like killing and oppressing others," Mahathir was quoted as saying. "As such, they're afraid of their own shadow, afraid to come here, afraid because they know there are many people in this world hating them."

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday assured Australians that they were safe in Thailand after their government issued a heightened travel warning for citizens traveling to Bangkok.

Australia on Thursday issued warnings to citizens traveling to Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, East Timor, Singapore and Brunei, advising them to defer non-essential travel. Similar warnings were issued for Indonesia on Wednesday.

"As of now there is nothing to worry about. I will ask the foreign ministry to notify the Australian embassy that they should not overreact as everything is well taken care of in Thailand," he told reporters.

Thaksin said Thai authorities had implemented stringent anti- terrorist measures following the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

"We have had security operation plans in place covering all soft targets since September 11," he said.

Thaksin acknowledged that terrorist attacks generally could be a fallout from the U.S.-led war on Iraq but said the situation in Thailand was stable.

"It's possible for any movement (to make an attack) but for Thailand I think movements are under control. Thailand is not directly hostile to any country, however we are not careless," he said.

Separately, the Philippines government said on Friday that U.S. troops will still be deployed in the southern Philippines despite possible new terror threats by Moro extremists linked to al-Qaeda.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said the planned joint U.S.- Philippine military exercises in the south, codenamed "Balikatan" (Shoulder-to-shoulder) will proceed after the State Department report of possible new terror attacks.

"The Balikatan will go through and we are ready for those kind of threats," Reyes said.

U.S. forces are to assist the Philippines military in operations targeting the Abu Sayyaf, a Moro kidnapping gang based in the country's south which has been linked to al-Qaeda.

Reyes described the Abu Sayyaf threat as "old hat," and assured the public that the military was taking steps to quash the group.