The criticism by the US envoy over harsh comments by Malaysian leaders over the war o­n Iraq is expected to cast a pall over Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's participation in a G8 meeting in France later this week.

The deteriorating state of US-Malaysia relations became evident o­nly yesterday when the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur made public a speech by ambassador Marie T Huhtala at an ASLI Strategic Issues Forum last Friday.

Irritated Washington

In her speech, Huhtala said with unprecedented candour that strongly-worded statements by Malaysian leaders were the key reasons for the erosion of goodwill between the two governments since Mahathir's meeting with Bush in Washington a year ago.

"Many countries around the world disagreed with us o­n Iraq. But some of the public statements by senior Malaysian officials have castigated the US in antagonistic, occasionally offensive terms," she said, according to a text made available o­n the embassy's website yesterday.

"Senior American officials in Washington were especially taken aback to hear the victims of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks dismissed as mere 'collateral damage' and irritated by allegations that the US was pursuing a war against Islam, a policy based o­n racism and an effort to dominate the world," she added.

"These are not helpful statements by any standard, and I'm here to tell you that Washington does take note of them. They are bound to have a harmful effect o­n the relationship."

Although Huhtala did not specifically attribute the remarks to any particular leader, it is widely believed that she was referring to a speech given by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad during the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Kuala Lumpur last February.

Helpful role

However, the envoy tempered the severity of her remarks by welcoming warmer gestures by other government officials.

"We appreciated (then) Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's statement to the Malaysian people, at the outset of military action in Iraq, that no harm should come to US property and citizens in Malaysia.

Huhtala also referred to assurances given by Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar during a luncheon speech with the American Chamber of Commerce earlier this month when he expressed Malaysia's commitment to maintaining a strong and close relationship with the US.

"(Syed Hamid) referred in glowing terms to American ideas and ideals that have been a major influence o­n Malaysia's economic and political development.

"The minister also acknowledged that the bilateral relationship with the US affects Malaysia more than its relations with any other nation," she said.

In addition, Huhtala urged all involved parties to work to bring bilateral relations back to a "more even keel" by cooperating o­n the effort to rebuild Iraq.

"Even though Malaysia is currently not a member of the UN Security Council, it has a very important role to play as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement and as prospective chair of the Organisation of Islamic Conference. My government would like that to be a helpful role," she noted.

Foreign ministry mum

Meanwhile, when asked if US President Bush would raise the matter of bilateral relations with Mahathir when the two leaders meet for the G8 summit between June 1-3, a US embassy spokesperson said it is still uncertain if the two leaders would meet o­n the sidelines.

"Usually, the G8 leaders discuss economic issues. The discussion may include issues related to the Iraq (reconstruction) since sanctions have recently been lifted," spokesperson Frank Whitaker commented.

When contacted, officials from the Foreign Ministry's US desk refused to comment o­n Huhtala's description of the state of Malaysia-US relations.

Repeated attempts to contact the prime minister's press secretary were also unsuccessful.

Malaysia's invitation to the Group of Eight developed countries' summit was announced as early as June 2000 although the reasons for the invitation have not been specified.

Aside from Mahathir, the 12 other foreign leaders invited to the meeting include Chinese President Hu Jintao, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

The core G8 nations are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia.