(AFP) Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he wanted to improve relations with the United States, which were previously strained, under the administration of President George W Bush.

Mahathir was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying the government did not have problems with the Bush administration, adding that US-Malaysia ties were "better now than before".

Malaysia's ties with the previous US administration of Bill Clinton soured when his deputy, Al Gore, seemed to express support for anti-government demonstrators at an APEC summit in Kuala Lumpur three years ago.

The demonstrators were supporters of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, now jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy, who was described by the US State department during the Clinton era as a "political prisoner".

However, events of the September 11 attacks and the following global war on terrorism had led Malaysian to hail the dawn of a new era in relations with the US.

"As we know, the previous US administration made direct criticisms on us," the premier said.

"In fact its Vice-President came here and encouraged certain people to topple the government. But the present government in the US does not do this. It is therefore easier for us to have communication with the new government."

Improved relations

Mahathir said the meeting with President Bush at October's APEC summit had led to improved relations between the two countries as the US now understood Malaysia's stand on certain issues, including terrorism.

"I met President Bush in a situation where America also faced the problem of threat to its security and definitely he would better appreciate how, why we used our approach to tackle the security problem in our country.

"With that, he may better understand what was done by Malaysia because he is also facing the same problem," he said during an interview with the official news agency which was aired over local broadcasting stations.

Mahathir has condemned the September 11 attacks, but criticised military retaliation in Afghanistan, saying it would kill innocent people and fail to stamp out terrorism.

The premier also defended the use of the Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial and has been criticised by the US in the past, as an effective tool to combat terrorism.