An opposition leader today slammed the US visa restrictions on local Muslim men as "baseless and unfair", saying it will only strengthen the impression that the US is conducting a war between the West and Islam.

In his statement, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang said, "The US State Department could not have come out with more crude, blunt and insensitive visa restrictions."

Effective this week, male Muslims aged between 16 and 45 heading for the US would be queried in a form if they had any past military background.

A terrorist task force in Washington DC would study their applications, necessitating a delay of 20 days.

Other 'blacklisted' countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen

Lim criticised the restrictions as tantamount to telling "all the male Muslim men between the ages of 16 and 45 among the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world that they are potential terrorists".

He also scoffed at the questions on military background in the application forms, saying "as if al-Qaeda terrorists would volunteer information [of] past military services or weapons training in their visa applications".

He called on Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who today expressed his regret at the new rules, to urge for a strong protest from the Cabinet to the US and demand that Malaysia be taken off the 'black list'.

"Malaysia is doubly offended. . .not only for being lumped with countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria which the United States has openly labelled as 'terrorist states', but also because the Malaysian government had always prided itself as an oasis of peace, order and security which is a completely safe haven for foreign investments and visitors," Lim said.

Gov't partly to blame

However, Lim also blamed the government for the latest development, as prior to Sept 11, "motivated primarily by political considerations, [it] had been speaking and acting as if Malaysia had become a hotbed of Islamic terrorism".

Commending Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's vow yesterday to crack down on Islamic extremists, Lim nevertheless asked, "Where is the evidence of the existence of such groups and activities?"

He claimed that the government has successfully spread the image of Malaysia as a "centre of militant Islamic terrorism" that the country is being avoided not only by foreign investors but also foreign tourists.

Inadequate assurances

In a separate statement, the DAP leader also took Mahathir to task for assuming that the ethnic Chinese and non-Muslims would be reassured by his promise that their citizenship rights are secure.

At a dinner hosted by the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Mahathir had reportedly said, "In Malaysia, the community is always represented in the government and we have no wish to obstruct or curtail your rights. Your rights will remain your rights."

However, Lim countered, "Despite Mahathir's assurances, the irrefutable fact is that with [his recent] declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state, the Chinese and non-Muslims face the erosion and loss of the 44-year fundamental constitutional principle. . .as a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation."