Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has drummed up support for his plan to find an Islamic solution to Middle East violence in talks with the leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Musharraf has already met with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates to seek support for his initiative to bring peace to the region.

The Pakistani leader said his trip to Indonesia was focused on discussing "the turmoil within the Muslim world" with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We both felt that the time has come for action and that there is no room for complacency because things are moving so fast, things are deteriorating so fast, that we need to arrest this deteriorating trend," he told a joint press conference with Yudhoyono.

He said they had "reviewed the turmoil in Palestine, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan" and had come to an agreement about the need for the new plan to contribute to resolving disputes in the Muslim world.

Meeting Pak Lah

Later he flew to Malaysia for talks with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the current chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest grouping of Muslim nations.

The two leaders did not make any comment after the meeting, but the Malaysian foreign ministry said earlier that the talks would focus on the Middle East peace initiative.

"The two leaders are also expected to exchange views on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon and how non-Arab OIC member countries could play a more visible role in revitalising the Middle East peace process," it said.

Outlining his plan in Jakarta, Musharraf said that influential and like-minded Muslim countries would be gathered "to contribute towards resolution of the disputes which are festering within the Muslim world."

The group would consult with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and develop its ideas on how to advance the peace process in the Muslim world.

"We hope to contribute jointly towards peace and harmony not only within the Muslim world but also in the whole world at large," he said.

Yudhoyono, president of the world's most populous Muslim country, welcomed the proposal.

"I welcome and I support fully the idea of consulting all leaders of like-minded Islamic countries to be part of the overall solution bringing peace to the Middle East," he said.

West backing

Yudhoyono said that to achieve a resolution of the Middle East's problems, "we need to see greater dialogue and consultation and (an increased) role of like-minded Islamic countries."

Musharraf was optimistic his plan would win backing from the West.

"If the group is like-minded, is strong, is credible and is acceptable to all it will have a voice which will be heard by all," he said.

"Since the West is looking and searching for methods and new ideas of bringing peace to the region I think any new idea, any new initiative would be acceptable to them as long as it is workable and credible and acceptable to all."

Musharraf and Yudhoyono also discussed stepping up economic cooperation.

Indonesia agreed to back Pakistan's bid to become a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the grouping's summit later this year.