The anti-terrorism centre set up in Malaysia next year is aimed at enhancing the existing exchange of information between Southeast Asian countries and the United States rather than inviting a strong American military presence, said experts.

Jatswan S Sidhu, a lecturer from Universiti Malaya's International and Strategic Studies Department, said this is in line with the long tradition of sharing information among intelligence units in the region.

"Though there have been suspicion and occasional bickering among the countries since they gained independence, let's not forget that where national security is concerned, the intelligence units always share their information.

"The military forces for example have always had this kind of arrangement. It's nothing new. They are only now looking at how to coordinate that process at the top level," he said when met yesterday.

He said by proposing to set up the centre in the region, the US merely wanted to send out a message that fighting terrorism is a collective responsibility.

"I don't think they want a full engagement or stronger military presence. They just want to tell the governments here that you can't take a backseat in the war against terrorism. The centre is not going to be a full-blown CIA-Malaysian branch," he said.

Boost confidence

Jatswan said the Malaysian government, before agreeing to host the centre, must have considered local sensitivities and was aware of the need to guard against excessive US involvement in the project.

When asked, he said he did not see nationalism and anti-US sentiments translating into serious backlash in the months to come and urged the public to wait until the full details about the centre are unveiled before reacting.

Assistant director-general of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis) Dr Stephen Leong also stressed that the centre will focus on information sharing and not military training.

"It is one way to show that we are very much into the struggle against terrorism. This is positive for Malaysia and Asean," he said.

He added that the centre's presence here will also help to boost the confidence of foreigners who want to invest or travel in the region "especially after the Bali bombing".

He said strong objections from the predominantly Muslim Malaysian society against the centre is "understandable but manageable".

Professional armed forces

In an interview with Analysis Malaysia in September, US ambassador to Malaysia Marie T Huhtala said the centre will resemble the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok.

The organisation, headed by a former Thai police official and provided with budget and instructors by the US, was set up in 1998 as part of a joint effort to enhance regional cooperation to fight transnational crime threats such as drug trafficking and people smuggling.

Huhtala also said the US would prefer to set up the anti-terrorism centre in Malaysia because the country has "very professional armed forces and police apparatus".

The idea to set up the centre in Malaysia was first raised by US Secretary of State Colin Powell during his visit here in July.

A month later, Powell had also signed a joint declaration on counter-terrorism with Asean ministers who were meeting in Brunei.

On Sunday, US President George W Bush announced the centre set-up at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Mexico while Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also said at the same meeting that Malaysia had agreed to host it.

Objections

Despite Abdullah's repeated assurances that no US military presence will be involved, opposition leaders and civil groups have questioned the move.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the proposal would "only give latitude for the US to interfere in the country's administration".

Dr Chandra Muzaffar who heads the International Movement for a Just World also questioned whether the centre would cause Malaysia to lose its credibility on foreign policy.

"Would a US-managed anti-terrorism centre in Kuala Lumpur provoke would-be terrorists with their anti-American orientation to target Malaysia?" he had asked.

Malay-based social group Teras Pengupayaan Melayu in a statement yesterday urged the government to "reject the proposal and use its influence to bring the international attention to uphold justice in the world".