A top US defence official touring Asia to drum up support for action against Iraq was given a strong anti-war message by Malaysia today.

Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton was told that while Malaysia wanted Iraq to comply with UN disarmament resolutions a war would not be popular among Muslim countries or developing nations.

Briefing reporters after meeting Bolton, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia's message was that war would create instability in many countries, drain the focus from international terrorism and hinder economic recovery.

"We want Iraq to comply with the UN resolutions but at the same time we think that the UN process should be allowed to take its course before any decision is made," he said.

Malaysia, which takes over the chairmanship of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference later this year, also cautioned that the UN's multilateral system "should not be used to legitimise unilateral action".

Unpopular war

"It is important that the multilateral process is allowed to take its course and any decision that is made has to be based on the report of the UN inspection team," Syed Hamid said.

"We have always held the view that this war if it happens is not a popular war among developing as well as Muslim countries."

Malaysia also made it clear it was "not very happy" about the way Iraq had been singled out while Israel and North Korea also had weapons of mass destruction, Syed Hamid said.

Earlier, Bolton spoke separately to reporters about his meeting with the foreign minister, and stressed that there was agreement on the need for Iraq to comply with UN resolutions.

"Malaysia also made it plain that it insists on compliance with the applicable Security Council resolutions that Iraq has to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction.

"Everybody has agreed on that and I think that's a very important point as we enter the next several weeks waiting for the report of the (arms inspectors) to the Security Council.

"On that issue, there is no disagreement at all," he said.

Exchanging views

Bolton, who has already visited New Zealand and Singapore, was due to leave later Wednesday for the Philippines before going on to Thailand, Japan, South Korea and China.

"We haven't asked for anything specifically on this trip," he said.

"This is to provide current thinking by our administration and to get the views of governments that I'm visiting."

The New Zealand government told Bolton this week that any military action against Iraq must have the support of the Security Council and that the United States should not act unilaterally.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff also said that the use of military force against Iraq could complicate the campaign against terrorism.

Goff said the US had been remarkably successful in gathering Islamic and Arabic support for a global war against terror following the attacks on the US in September 2001.

"We would certainly like to see that breadth of support for the campaign against global terror maintained," he said. "We want to minimise the risks of destabilising the Middle East. The use of military force in Iraq could complicate the situation."

In reply, Bolton said: "I don't think it is undercutting the war against terrorism to be concerned about Iraq's... capability and I think the elimination of that capability will lead to a more stable world and one where the risk of terrorism in fact diminishes". — AFP