So our prime minister wants to advise the US president on how to fight terrorism! He has written a letter to be followed by a request to meet Bush during the Apec meeting in China.

In his quest to receive international acclaim, Dr Mahathir Mohamad knows no limits, and this is another one of those 'social climbing' efforts to shore up his battered image.

Where does our PM get the knowledge and experience to fight terrorism? Is this the same PM whose army got duped by a bunch of fanatics and in the process, lost weapons and ammunition?

If we are talking about the communist threat during the emergency, maybe our PM should first consult some retired British army personnel or our very own 'Home Guard', because they too are featured prominently in our fight against the terrorists.

Or maybe the PM thinks that we have our very own Taliban, in the form of Al Arqam, which, it is said very recently, is making a comeback. Al Arqam, of course, did not bomb any government installations, but if our PM brings some of their photographs to show how they dress, maybe Bush will be impressed that we succeeded in bringing them down.