Malaysia has agreed to set up an anti-terrorism centre in partnership with the United States, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar announced after a cabinet meeting today.

It will be known as the Southeast Asia Centre for Counter-Terrorism and will focus on "capacity-building" and understanding the issues related to terrorism, he said.

Experts from around the world will serve as instructors at the centre, which will be open to all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations when it is launched some time next year.

"The centre does not involve operational matters or incorporate military activities," Syed Hamid said.

"We will cooperate with the US because the centre was initiated by the US."

Regional anti-terror pact

Malaysia first announced it might host the centre after US President George W Bush raised the issue on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Mexico last month.

The mainly-Muslim country has been at pains since then to dismiss any suggestions that the centre would involve the deployment of US troops in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad signed an anti-terrorism pact with the US during a visit to the White House in May, but faces opposition from hardline Islamists over his cooperation with Washington.

His government has detained more than 70 alleged Islamic militants over the past year, many of them members of Jemaah Islamiah, which is suspected of involvement in the Bali bombing on Oct 12 which killed nearly 200 people.

Malaysia is also party to a regional anti-terrorism pact with Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand. - AFP