NEW DELHI - Malaysia could be a target for terrorist attacks similar to those which occurred in Bali and the Philippines this week in which more than 180 people died, visiting Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed warned today.

"In the case of terrorist activities, you can never determine where they are going to attack next," Mahathir told a press conference wrapping up his three-day visit to India.

"Of course, Malaysia may be subject to same kind of attacks as in Bali and Philippines, but we have taken very early precautionary measures to eliminate this possibility," he added.

"I don't think there is any reason to panic and I think time will show Malaysia is a safe and stable country."

The prime minister repeated that Malaysia strongly opposed any US-led military action against Iraq, saying such a move would give rise to feelings of animosity against Muslims and produce more recruits for terrorist networks.

"We are against any attack on Iraq, especially without the UN approval," he said, before leaving for Islamabad.

Counter-productive move

Any unilateral action against Iraq, he added, would be counter-productive. "We have to formulate a common stand on how nations should tackle international problems," he added.

Asked if the Iraq crisis figured during his talks with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other Indian leaders on Thursday, Mahathir said it did come up for discussion during his meeting with Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha.

"Malaysia and India agree that there should be no unilateral action against Iraq ... any unilateral action is not an answer to international problems."

United News of India news agency quoted Mahathir as saying his talks with Vajpayee had focussed on economic ties.

He said his country wanted India to grant landing rights to more Malaysian Airlines planes in cities like Hyderabad and New Delhi.

Mahathir also said he had asked Vajpayee to further reduce import duty on Malaysian palm oil specially in view of the lower import duty on soyabean oil from the United States.

During his India visit, Mahathir toured information technology centres and met business leaders in Hyderabad, a historically Muslim city that is one of India's fastest-growing high-tech hubs.

Mahathir is accompanied by his wife, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, and a delegation including Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik.

He is due to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad before leaving for Saudi Arabia on Saturday. AFP