Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today lashed out at countries which use the excuse of preventing proliferation of nuclear arms to take unilateral action against others.

Without naming the states, Mahathir said there is a propensity for some countries to unilaterally react against others on suspicions of developing nuclear armaments.

He added that this is done without due regard to the findings of multilateral agencies that have been empowered to make such judgements.

"As a result of this propensity to act unilaterally as an international prosecutor, judge and jury, there is also now a threat for these countries to launch pre-emptive military strikes on nuclear facilities of alleged proliferating states, with the current war on terrorism serving as a convenient excuse," the premier stressed.

Mahathir said this high-handed approach could ultimately undermine global non-nuclear proliferation objectives as provided under the non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

The prime minister was giving his keynote address at the International Nuclear Conference 2002 in Kuala Lumpur.

Restricting access

According to Mahathir, the NPT was set up with three key objectives to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to states not already in possession of them, to promote international transfer of technology for peaceful applications of nuclear energy and to stop the increase in the nuclear weapons arsenal of proliferated states.

"However, for a long while now, the focus has instead been on restricting access to nuclear technology by non-nuclear weapon states for fear that the technology may be used to develop nuclear weapons," he said.

Although conceding that there was a need to institute such controls, the premier said there is also a possibility that some nuclear technology supplier states were "overzealously applying such a control for purposes other than preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons".

"This may be for alleged human rights violation of other issues, or even as a non-tariff trade barrier, especially when it comes to dual-use items," he said.

Biased approach

Mahathir also questioned the biased approach in taking action against some states on suspicions of developing nuclear weapons while overlooking similar actions by other states.

"If the state developing such weapons is an ally, no action is taken to curb the development or possession or to institute nuclear export control.

"If not an ally, the full military might and fury of those countries would be brought down to bear upon the states concerned," he said.

Met by reporters later, Mahathir declined to specify the states he was referring to but said, "I do know that there is no pressure on Israel to do away with their nuclear weapons but there is much pressure on other countries".

The premier also dismissed suggestions that an attack on Iraq could be justified if there was a possibility that the country was manufacturing nuclear weapons.

"They have the possibility but lots of people have the possibility. If we attack a country because of possibilities, then every country can be attacked. They should attack Israel," he said.

Nuclear terrorism

Mahathir also warned that the unilateral and inconsistent approach of some countries in applying non-proliferation rules and threatening to use pre-emptive military power could prompt radical elements in the threatened countries to take action.

"The radical and hard-line constituencies in the threatened states will grow and be emboldened, with some, probably, even wishing to take matters into their own hands, by resorting to acts of terrorism, perhaps even nuclear terrorism," he said.

In addition, Mahathir said if the threatened states are those predominantly populated by people of a particular religious faith, the actions could be perceived as victimising counties and people of that faith.

The prime minister said this is particularly so in the light of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

"Already there is an attempt to inhibit peaceful nuclear cooperation among Middle Eastern States.

"It would seem that some countries are not trusted despite their concession to the nuclear no-proliferation treaty," he added.

Responding to a question on what causes terrorism, Mahathir said one reason could be the continued attacks (by the Israelis) against the Palestinians, while the other could be the idea of the United States invading Iraq.

"Generally, (there is also) the attitude towards Muslim countries. It is to the extent that Saudi Arabia now wants to impose reciprocal counter-checks on countries which discriminate against them," he added.

Tanker blast

Meanwhile, questioned about what might be the effects of the Bali bomb blast on the Malaysian economy, Mahathir said, "We hope, not too much but it has already affected stock markets all over the world".

The bomb blast at a Bali night club in Indonesia last Saturday was said to have claimed at least 189 lives, including large numbers of Australian tourists.

With no one claiming responsibility for the attack, immediate suspicions fell on the al-Qaeda terror network helmed by Osama bin Laden.

However, certain quarters claim the attack could have specifically targetted Australians because of the country's involvement in bringing about the independence of East Timor in 1999.

On another development, the prime minister refused to confirm reports by US and French investigators that the explosion on board an oil tanker chartered by Petronas in Yemen could be due to a terrorist attack.

"So far, Petronas has not informed me of anything else," Mahathir said.

Two weeks ago, an explosion ripped a hole in the side of an oil tanker leased by Petronas off the coast of Yemen.

US and French investigators deployed to Yemen said they found traces of TNT and parts of a small boat said to have been used to ram into the side of the French-registered tanker.

However, in their preliminary probe, Petronas ruled out foul-play and blamed faulty wiring on board the vessel.