Oil should be used as a weapon to protect the interests of Muslims, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said today.

"If we reduce oil output, prices will rise. It can be used as a weapon to protect the interest of Muslims," Mahathir said.

Malaysia is due to take over the chairmanship of the Organisation of the Islamic conference (OIC) next year.

"Oil is the only thing Muslim nations have which is needed by the rest of the world. If they can cut back on supply, people will not be oppressive on them," Mahathir said.

Weapon of the weak

The veteran Southeast Asian leader, who has led a moderate Muslim government for the past 21 years, was replying to a question after opening a local Islamic convention in Melaka.

"When we are weak, we will be exploited. We are now seeing worldwide Muslims are being exploited.

"To avoid exploitation, we must be strong. If we have oil, it can be used as a weapon.

"Opec (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) should control the price of oil but there is no unity in Opec. When the oil price goes up, there are other nations that increase output."

Malaysia is an oil producer and was a net exporter of some six million tonnes of crude petroleum last year, but is not a member of Opec.

Arab producers, accounting for half of world supplies, have not used the oil card since the 1973 crisis, despite repeated calls by Iraq and others for them to do so.

Washington in April dismissed Iraq's latest call for oil to be used as a weapon on behalf of the Palestinians as "random musings", saying the idea was not being taken seriously in the Arab world.

'Anti-Muslim hysteria'

Mahathir, 76, who will chair the summit meeting of the 57-member OIC in Kuala Lumpur in October next year, held talks with US President George W Bush in May and has been hailed by the White House for his support of the war against terrorism.

Previously seen as a scathing critic of the West, Mahathir has emerged since the Sept 11 terror attacks as something of a spokesman for moderate Islam, defending the faith while excoriating extremists who resort to violence.

His government has arrested 63 alleged Islamic militants in a crackdown which began before the September attacks, some of whom allegedly have links to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

But on Tuesday, Mahathir criticised the United States for what he called "anti-Muslim hysteria" after his country was placed on a list of 'terrorist-risk" countries.

Those comments came after it was also revealed that he and his deputy prime minister were subjected to tough security checks during separate visits to the United States.

Abdullah was required to remove his shoes and belt, while Mahathir said a security agent who boarded his jet in New York during his trip to see Bush had behaved in an uneccessarily "rough" manner.

Apology accepted

The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur yesterday expressed regret for any "inappropriate treatment" of Malaysia's leaders and pledged to try to ensure that it would not happen again.

Mahathir said today he accepted the US apology but added: "I was in my private plane. I am not going to carry a bomb in a government plane. Their approach towards me was rough but that is their country. If they want to be rude, we don't go to their country."