The Malaysian government should come out in the open to rebut any alleged links between the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition and terrorist movements such as the al-Qaeda .

The DAP urged the government to present a White Paper in Parliament to inform all MPs and Malaysians on the threat of militancy in the country and whether such bodies are linked to any international terrorist movements.

The opposition party said it is up to the government to take the "best and effective" step to counter the adverse effects on Malaysia's image by rectifying the United Nation's erroneous report and to win the confidence of foreign investors and tourists.

It also expressed regret that the UN had not first checked with the Malaysian government or the police on the allegations taken from a book "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror" by Sri Lankan author Dr Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism analyst.

Open and transparent rebuttal

DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock said such an allegation by the UN Security Council's monitoring report implicating BN with al-Qaeda was unthinkable to any Malaysian who will agree that it is a preposterous allegation.

"However, I wish to remind the government that the best and effective rebuttal against such an allegation is for it to be open and transparent on the questions of militancy and terrorism threat in Malaysia," he said in a statement today.

"Such a hasty decision by the UN is most unfair and even dangerous, considering the impact and implications of untruthful allegations to Malaysia and its people."

The UN report ruffled feathers in Malaysia recently when it lifted material from Rohan's book linking the BN government to al-Qaeda , and claiming that the terror network had financial interests in Malaysia.

The government has registered a formal protest with the UN over a chart annexed to the report which drew a link between BN and al-Qaeda.

Kerk, who is Kota Melaka MP, said the Malaysian police should investigate the allegations as Rohan claims "there is credible information that members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been in communication with members of the BN".

He said there must be a clear distinction between an organisation's leadership actively accepting or supporting a terrorist organisation and an organisation being infiltrated by some terrorist elements without the knowledge of the leadership.

"The UN must, therefore, explain why it has made such an unprofessional and hasty report," he added.

Commission of inquiry urgent

Meanwhile, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang urged Parliament to establish a commission of inquiry on terrorism in Malaysia and to get the now-controversial author, Rohan, to present his evidence that several individuals in BN have contact with al-Qaeda through the MILF.

Quoting from an interview with Singapore's Straits Times , he said that according to Rohan, the information was in a report "MILF Linkages with Domestic and Foreign Non-Government and People's Organisations" from the Directorate for Intelligence of the Philippine National Police, and other sources.

The gravity of the matter warranted two urgent actions in Parliament on Monday; a ministerial statement by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the UN report and Rohan's book, and an emergency motion to establish the commission, said Lim.

"The commission is urgently needed especially since the government and the police have not, since the Sept 11 attacks, taken Parliament into their confidence on information with regards to terrorist cells, networks and activities (in Malaysia).

"(And) in particular, (the commission is) to ensure that the fight against terrorism is not hijacked into an expedient opportunity to clampdown on democratic opposition, legitimate dissent and fundamental human rights," he added.