The spectre of Southeast Asian terrorism loomed over talks today between Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The two leaders have brought strong delegations to the annual consultations on a host of issues ranging from illegal migrants to trade, tourism, pollution and unlawful logging.

"But terrorism is proving to be a new challenge to these two neighbours," Indonesia's chief counsellor Soepeno Sahid told AFP ahead of the talks in the Sarawak state capital Kuching.

New measures

Indonesia has been hit by attacks blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorist network, the most recent being a car-bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta this month which killed 12 people, while several Malaysians have been named as senior militants within the group.

Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, a private think-tank, said the two leaders were expected to be briefied on the latest steps taken to fight terrorism.

"They may identify new measures and renew their pledge to fight terror. It is vital because the Marriott blast will not only impact Indonesia but also Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia," he told AFP.

Megawati is accompanied to the talks by Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwawea.

Malaysia will be respresented by 13 ministers, including Defence Minister Najib Razak, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz.

Malaysia's police chief Norian Mai, top government lawyer Abdul Gani Patail, central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and immigration officials are also attending the meeting.

Playing the part

Soepeno said the Marriott blast had shown that "there must be timely information sharing".

Deputy Defence Minister Shafie Apdal said terrorism was an important issue for the two countries.

"We are concerned. We have to play our part in the global war," he told AFP.

But Shafie said Indonesia and Malaysia could not cope alone as long as the United States did not resolve the Palestinian issue and continued to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are no nearer to solving the terrorism problem. Young emotional Muslims are willing to kill themselves," he told AFP.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world while Muslims dominate Malaysia's multiracial population.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have a trilateral security pact to combat terrorism and cross-border crime.- AFP