With Southeast Asian nations fearing economic fallout from terror bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines, one of the wealthiest, Malaysia, fought hard on several fronts today to clear its name of any taint of terrorism.

The extremely sensitive government, struggling to preserve it's image as a safe and rapidly developing country in a troubled region, criticised:

The author of a book allegedly linking the ruling coalition to the al-Qaeda terror network;

An international magazine which incorrectly identified Malaysia as a target of al-Qaeda-linked bombings;

The Australian government, which cancelled events in Malaysia over terror fears.

The book, Inside al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror , disappeared from the shelves of major bookstores after the government said it was the basis of a "totally untruthful and offensive" United Nations Security Council report.

Unjustly condemned

The report allegedly links ruling National Front to Osama bin Laden's terrorist organisation through the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group in the Philippines and the government has demanded its withdrawal.

But the author of the book, Sri Lankan academic Rohan Gunaratna, told AFP Monday that he had been unjustly accused.

"Nowhere in my book have I linked al-Qaeda to Barisan National (the National Front)", he said.

Gunaratna, who is an analyst with the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, admitted, however, that he did say the MILF "maintains some links with individuals in Barisan National".

"The reference is based on a foreign government document and I have told the Malaysians I will be happy to provide them with a copy of the document," he said, declining to name the foreign government.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who first raised the issue, said today that home ministry officials were studying the book but that it had not yet been officially banned.

The government is considering legal action against Gunaratna.

FEER apology

It has also threatened to sue the weekly Far Eastern Economic Review , which apologised last week for incorrectly identifying Malaysia as a country where bombings linked to the suspected regional terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), have taken place.

JI is a suspect in the Bali bombings in neighbouring Indonesia, and is described by Gunaratna as "al-Qaeda's Southeast Asia network".

Australia, which suffered the most casualties in the Bali bombing, also drew oblique criticism today for announcing that it had postponed two events planned for Malaysia later this month because of growing fears of terror attacks on its citizens.

The move coincided with a travel advisory urging Australians to be on heightened alert in Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Asked whether Australia's action could scare other countries into doing the same, Abdullah told reporters: "It might. There are some countries which are easily scared and might follow suit.

"But there are others which are brave and might think more of the long term and would make inquiries and obtain clarification. Those countries would get information which would convince them that our country is peaceful and safe."

Malaysia has already complained about travel restrictions imposed on its citizens by the United States in the wake of the Sept 11 terror attacks, with Mahathir condemning what he called "anti-Muslim hysteria". AFP

Read malaysiakini columnist Farish A Noor's review of Inside al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror .