Malaysia will ask Israel to allow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit here next month, said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

"The NAM meeting is important during this period of global uncertainties. Arafat should be allowed to attend.

"We cannot pressure big powers but (we will) ask Israel to allow Arafat to come for the NAM meeting," he told reporters yesterday.

Slim chances

He acknowledged that the chances may be slim, noting that Israel refused to let Arafat attend a London conference o­n Palestinian reforms earlier this month despite an appeal from British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Arafat's Palestinian Authority is a member of NAM, which groups 114 countries in an organisation established as an alternative to the Western and Soviet blocs during the Cold War.

Malaysia has indicated it believes the war o­n terrorism and the situation in Iraq, which is also a member of NAM, could give the organization a new role to play.

Syed Hamid said 40 leaders had so far confirmed attendance at the February 20-25 summit. - AFP