DAP today called on the government to issue a White Paper to deal with the question as to whether the American Federal Bureau of Investigation was spearheading an international conspiracy to besmirch Malaysia as a haven of terrorism.

DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang said the governments threats of suing international news magazines for their negative articles linking Malaysia terrorism were not effective.

On the contrary, there appears to be a burst of the floodgates and Malaysia is awash with international media reports linking the country to the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the US despite strenuous denials by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other cabinet ministers, he said in a press statement.

Lim was referring to a spate of adverse international media reports on Malaysia this week, the most controversial published by Newsweek in its Feb 4 edition citing an FBI report that Malaysia was a launchpad for the Sept 11 attacks.

This was followed by a report in USA Today on Jan 30 which also quoted the FBI as describing Malaysia as one of the primary operational launch pads for the attacks.

FBI personnel were quoted as saying: Preparations for the Sept 11 attacks on US took place in Kuala Lumpur and US leaders increasingly see Malaysia as a key front in the war against terrorism.

On Jan 31, the New York Times, under the headline Suspect calls Malaysia a Staging Area for Terror Attacks reported that the US was negotiating with Malaysia to extradite Yazid Sufaat, a 37-year-old former army captain detained in Kedah on Dec 9.

Credibility gap

Yazid was one of the 23 held under the Internal Security Act by police for allegedly being involved in the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, a extremist Islamic militant group which authorities say wants to topple the government.

The New York Times also quoted American officials describing Yazid as an operative of al-Qaeda terrorist network who appeared to have operated as a paymaster for Zacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui, a French national of Moroccan descent, is the only person caught so far in connection with the Sept 11 attacks.

Yesterday, the Washington Post joined in the Malaysia-bashing when it quoted FBI director Robert Mueller III as saying the FBI believed the Sept 11 attacks were planned by al- Qaeda operatives in Malaysia.

Lim, in his statement, asked if Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Dr Rais Yatim was considering legal action against Mueller for defaming Malaysia.

It is intolerable that every day the international media is awash with reports about al-Qaeda operatives and links to Malaysia while the local media itself is full of reports of government denials that there are no al-Qaeda operatives and links here, he said.

It is in the national interest that this international credibility gap afflicting Malaysia should be resolved satisfactorily and immediately or else it would further undermine international confidence in the countrys economic future, he added.