The Americans have finally spoken and the general view that President George W Bush would lose to Senator John Kerry if there was a huge voter turnout didn't materialise. The incumbent was re-elected to office and this time with a decisive majority.

Many around the world, including many in Malaysia too, had wished to see a Bush defeat at the polls but unfortunately for them, the American people thought otherwise. They prefer to stick with the president they know, even though he had made some mistakes during his first term in office.

I admire Bush for his strong conviction when dealing with terrorists. He didn't back down from his threat to use the military might of the US in the fight against terrorism. It wasn't a popular decision but it had to be taken, otherwise his enemies would have thought of him as a weakling.

Prior to the US election, our former prime minister, being a respectable Asian leader, made a plea to American Muslims to vote for Kerry and also requested the Thai government to grant greater autonomy to its southern region.

I presume these were his own opinions and not those of the Malaysian government. Though events around the world and within our region affect us, it is not our style to tell others how they should vote or to govern their own country. Neither would we like it if others were to interfere in our internal affairs.