U.S. terror warning ignores cooperation: Malaysia
U.S. terror warning ignores cooperation: Malaysia
Pauline Jasudason, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has upbraided Washington for issuing a terrorism warning about Malaysia, which he said will hurt the economy and is a poor reward for his cooperation in the war against terror.
Mahathir said that there was no evidence to support the U.S. State Department warning of heightened risks to American citizens and interests in Malaysia following the Bali bombings in neighboring Indonesia last month.
The warning specifically mentioned Sabah, a Malaysian state on northern Borneo island, which was twice raided in 2000 by Abu Sayyaf separatists from the southern Philippines who took hostages for ransom, including foreign tourists. Abu Sayyaf has links to al-Qaeda.
"Are they prepared to take a bet on this?" Mahathir was quoted as saying the New Straits Times newspaper on Friday. "If what they claim does not happen, what will they say? They are damaging our economy by making baseless claims."
The Bali bombings have caused jitters in much of Southeast Asia, but governments have rejected terrorism warnings issued by the United States, Australia and other countries as too broad and a threat to economies that are highly dependent on tourism and foreign investment.
Mahathir criticized such warnings during a recent Southeast Asian summit, saying they were meaningless in a global campaign against terror and might as well warn against visiting "tall buildings" in the United States.
"A lone gunman is enough to create havoc in Washington," Mahathir told the newspaper on Thursday. "They are not free from terrorism. They shouldn't be passing this kind of judgment on other people."
U.S. Ambassador Marie Huhtala, in an interview with CNN that aired before the warning was issued, said that Americans expect to be told about risks and that the State Department maintains travel information on every country.
"But I assure you that these travel warnings are never aimed at the governments in question," Huhtala said. "There's never any hidden agenda to, you know, destroy their economy or discourage tourism to their countries."
Defense Minister Najib Razak said that more than 1,000 soldiers were posted on 28 islands in Sabah and that there was no risk of a Bali-style attack there or anywhere else in Malaysia.
Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai told the national news agency Bernama that if U.S. officials have information about a threat, "they are duty-bound to pass the information to us so that necessary actions can be taken."
Mahathir visited the White House in May and was thanked by U.S. President George W. Bush for cooperation against terrorism.
Malaysia has jailed about 70 suspected religious extremists, many of them members of al-Qaeda ally Jamaah Islamiyah. The group is suspected of a string of bomb plots and attacks, including the Bali blasts that killed nearly 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.
The warning came two days after a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent and a lawyer from the U.S. Attorney General's office interviewed Yazid Sufaat, one of the detainees, who appeared to be "evasive," a Malaysian official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Yazid is accused of providing an employment letter to terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, helping him enter the United States. Moussaoui faces the death penalty in the United States on charges of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The U.S. Embassy said the events were not connected.
"We're extremely happy with the cooperation Malaysia has shown on the Yazid Sufaat case," spokesman Frank Whitaker said.