With due respect and for the sake of democratic debate, I must challenge Marwaan Macan-Markar for describing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of being the o­nly Muslim leader with a ' backbone ' because he publicly adopts an anti-war posture.

First and foremost, although Mahathir claims to be a Muslim, he is not elected as a Muslim leader, but Malaysian PM. As a matter of fact, in the 1999 general elections, many Muslim voters deserted Mahathir's nationalist Umno and his coalition was kept in power because of the wrong impression of non-Muslim voters o­n Islam, Muslims and the Muslim oppositionists.

In any case, a Malaysian prime minister cannot just represent the view of Muslims domestically and internationally; otherwise, it is tantamount to saying that non-Muslims are second-class citizens, or even non-citizens, in Malaysia.

For the information of Macan-Markar (who is obviously not a Malaysian): Malaysia's population and voters are made up of people of many different ethnic groups and religions, not just Muslims like in Iraq or Iran. Besides Malay-Muslims, there are a significant number of non-Muslim Chinese (26%), Indians (10%) and Iban, Kadazan, Punjabi.

Without having a free media and fair elections or referendum to debate o­n important policies, including foreign policies, Mahathir's stand o­n Iraq cannot be regarded as truly representative or authentic voice of the people and nation of Malaysia.

Moreover, it is much easier for Mahathir to have "backbone" because Malaysia is far away from the striking range of Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles and the chemical and biological weapons these missiles could deliver. And as the US is usually very tolerant of dissidents (unlike Saddam's Iraq), Mahathir's anti-war and anti-US stand is costless and trouble-free.

I am not sure if Macan-Markar remembers the dangerous assertion made by Mahathir that the possible war o­n Iraq is a war of "the West" against "Muslims". O­nly an irresponsible opportunist would make this kind of inflammatory statement in public at this time of global tensions and conflicts.

May be the Security Council of the United Nations should enact its own global Sedition Act to deal with people like Mahathir who attempt to publicly instigate inter-religious and inter-ethnic hatred.

My questions to Macan-Markar: Does it mean that all the leaders of other Arab states who host American and British forces in their countries are not Muslims? Does it mean that the thousands of Kurds and Shiites massacred by the Iraqi regime are not Muslims?

Does it mean that o­nly Saddam Hussein and Mahathir are true Muslims in this world? I am looking forward to a response from Macan-Markar or any others who agree with his assessment and analysis of Mahathir.

I am not afraid of public debate for the sake of truth and justice for all human beings, irrespective of race or religion.