Malaysia has protested new travel restrictions imposed by the United States and Canada which it says link the country with terrorists.

In the past week Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has revealed that Washington has placed Malaysia on a list of states considered to be high risk, and Canada has slapped visa restrictions on citizens of the multicultural Southeast Asian nation.

The new rulings have angered Malaysians, whose government has supported the US-led war on terror and who fear the moves could prompt other countries to follow suit and hurt foreign investment just as the economy begins to strengthen.