DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang today challenged the American Defense Council to explain whether it is a lobby group for the American or Malaysian public.

Lim questioned the existence and credibility of the council and dared national news agency Bernama to prove that ADC existed.

The veteran politician also called on Bernama to prove that the council was an "influential American group" and that its report was circulated to the aides of all US congress representatives.

The Washington-based ADC first became known to Malaysians when Bernama highlighted the council's "Special Report for Foreign Policy LAs" last week.

The report, which received prominent coverage in the local media, described Malaysia as "the most politically and democratically stable nation in Asia in spite of the country's heterogeneous society".

"Nobody seems to have heard of ADC and it could not be located on the Internet," said Lim, in a press statement.

"An American lobby group which does not even maintain a website cannot but be a very fringe outfit," he added.

According to Bernama the council also warned of the danger posed by PAS to the Malaysian democracy.

It described the Islamic-based party as "the best organised of the reactionaries opposed to a modern state based on the politics of tolerance, diversity and inclusion".

The report concluded that the contest for Malaysia's future was a choice between a forward-looking state characterised by tolerance, blessed by prosperity and devoted to democracy, and a theocratic regime helmed by clerics whose rule was grounded on their claim to know God's will.

Following this, Lim had queried the credibility of the report and accused the government of using obscure right-wing extremist American groups to bolster its image in the international arena.

On Tuesday, Bernama reacted by providing the address and telephone number of the council's office in Washington DC.

The news agency also said that the council's report was faxed directly to its office in Kuala Lumpur and not its bureau in the American capital.

'Irresponsible attacks'

Today, another Bernama report quoted ADC's executive director Dan Perrin as demanding an apology from Lim for his "irresponsible attacks and uninformed, baseless and wrongful accusations".

The report described ADC as a foreign and defence policy arm of the American Taxpayers Alliance.

The two-year-old non-profit organisation promotes a strong national defence in the US, operating under the umbrella of the 10,000-member ATA, it added.

"A quick glance at the Internet would show that the ATA is an active player in American politics" and that US$2 million has been spent in advertisements in California this year, Perrin told Bernama.

While the ATA does not have a website, according to Lim, a search on the Internet uncovered two references, one in June describing it as belonging to the 'Top 10 Conservative Idiots'.

Another reference in July, he said, showed that the ATA was being sued in California for spending millions of dollars in airing political television advertisement in violation of the election laws of the state.

"If anyone owes an apology, it is the ADC," said Lim, urging Perrin to explain whether the council is a bona fide American group to lobby legislators in the country.

"Why was its report on Malaysia targetted more at Malaysians instead of Americans, given prominent front-page treatment by the Malaysian mainstream media while totally ignored by the American press, whether mainstream, alternative or fringe?" he queried.

The ADC should register as a Malaysian lobby group and become the first foreign lobby group whose main interest was to influence the political process in Malaysia from Washington, Lim remarked.