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.