Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi takes the message of moderate Islam which won him a landslide victory in March elections on his first official visits to the US, France and Britain this week.

When he meets President George W Bush at the White House on Monday, Abdullah will spell out Malaysia's stands on terrorism, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which are critical of US policies, aides say.

But the delivery will be measured and diplomatic, in sharp contrast to the strident attacks on Bush's foreign policies by Abdullah's predecessor, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which saw relations plummet before his retirement last October.

Abdullah also carries the weight of his current chairmanship of both the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of developing states to his meetings in the Western capitals.

"I think it is good for the prime minister to exchange views on how we can deal with Islamic issues, how we can avoid the perception of prejudice, perception of marginalisation, of degradation of Muslims," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

"Since Sept 11, the incidence of terrorism has not actually reduced, it has increased," he noted, reflecting Malaysia's view that the invasion of Iraq and other US moves in the war on terrorism had backfired.

Palestinian state

As chairman of the OIC and NAM, Abdullah would also urge that the timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state should not be deferred, Syed Hamid said.

The United States is Malaysia's biggest trading partner, and the two leaders are also expected to discuss a Trade Investment Framework Agreement (Tifa) signed in May.

The prime minister's meetings with Bush on July 19, French President Jacques Chirac on July 21 and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on July 23 mark his first official visits to the three countries since becoming premier.

Syed Hamid said relations with France were "very good" and the two countries "share similar views on the importance of multilateralism and the role that the United Nations should play", a reference to criticism of the US's unilateral invasion of Iraq.

Relations with Britain, the former colonial power, "have always been strong because of our historical ties," he said.

Personal triumph

Less than nine months after taking office, Abdullah's low-key international diplomacy has won him friends not only in the Western capitals but in Australia and Singapore, with whom relations were also tetchy under Mahathir.

"It is about time," Abdul Razak Baginda, the executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre told AFP.

"We always say we are a moderate Muslim country but at times we did not reflect this. We could no longer play the bridging role between the Muslim countries and the West."

Under Abdullah's leadership, the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition routed opposition Islamic fundamentalists in March elections, winning an overwhelming mandate for secular rule in one of the world's most developed Muslim states.

The victory was a personal triumph for Abdullah, who campaigned under the banner of "modern and progressive" Islamic governance, and rolled back gains made by Islamic hardliners in the last elections in 1999.

More than 90 alleged Islamic militants are held without trial in Malaysia, many of them accused of membership in regional groups linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.