Malaysia today pressed neighbouring Singapore to participate in a regional security pact to fight terrorism.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said at present Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have signed an agreement to share intelligence and establish effective communications procedures.

"The (Malaysian) foreign ministry should remind Singapore of the need to sign the agreement," Abdullah was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency .

Abdullah, who is also the home minister, said he hoped Singapore would not wait too long to sign the agreement with the five Southeast Asian countries.

Malaysia has arrested more than 70 alleged Islamic militants since mid-2001 under a tough security act.

Bombing targets

Many of the alleged Islamic militants detained were members of the Jemaah Islamiah group (JI), a militant organisation which authorities say is allied to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda and is suspected of mounting the Bali blast, which killed more than 190 people.

Singapore has detained 31 JI members who are said to have trained at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.

Their bombing targets are said to have included vital water supply pipelines from Malaysia, Changi airport, Jurong Island where Singapore's oil refineries and petrochemical plants are based, and the ministry of defence headquarters.

It was to be the first step towards JI's ultimate goal of creating an Islamic state covering Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the southern Philippines island of Mindanao and Brunei. AFP