The Defence Ministry sketched out a few details of the proposed Asean counter-terrorism centre, hinting that the project has taken a back seat to current preoccupation of the United States with the war o­n Iraq.

Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal ( left ) told reporters at the Parliament lobby today that the project was still in the planning stage, but that some decisions have been made in relation to funding and staffing issues.

Self-funded

Malaysia expects to fully fund the proposed regional anti-terrorism centre, although it is likely to benefit partner countries.

"The government will fund it fully. That's why we will control the running of the centre. There will be some Asean people coming into KL (for training purposes)," he said.

However, the deputy minister did not discount the possibility that the government may accept funding assistance from the US government, saying, "I don't dispute there might be some assistance from the US....maybe there will be some."

On staffing issues, Mohd Shafie said some 80 percent of the personnel would comprise local ministerial officials and enforcement officers, while the rest will be visiting experts.

"The trainers will be Americans, some British, and others from international bodies who are well versed with the issue of terrorism," he said.

Tech transfer

Asked about Australia's participation, Mohd Shafie said he was uncertain as to whether the country would be accepted as a partner for the centre.

"(Australia) wanted to be involved but we will have to see how it (goes). So far, there is no commitment as such," he added.

"The time frame, the manning of the centre, the infrastructure - these are yet to be established...the US is now focused o­n the war in Iraq."

Earlier, Mohd Shafie told Parliament that the regional counter-terrorism centre is expected to bring various benefits to Malaysia by increasing the country's capabilities in fighting terrorists.

"Among others, (we will benefit) from training, transfer of new technology, expertise and exchange of information relating to terrorist activities, whether our exchanges are with the US or other countries participating in the activities," he replied to MP Dr James Dawos Mamit (BN-Mambong).

The plan to set up the regional counter-terrorism centre in Malaysia was announced last October following a meeting between US President George W Bush and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Mexico.

The idea for the centre was first mooted by US Secretary of State Colin Powell during his visit to Kuala Lumpur last July.

To quell local concerns over the implications of such an outfit in the country, Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak had said that the venture would not involve the stationing of foreign troops in the country.

IMET allocations

On a related matter, Mohd Shafie said the ministry would continue to participate in joint International Military and Education Training (IMET) programmes organised by its US counterpart.

"We do not know how much the US government contributes towards funding the programme since several countries are involved in the exercise," he said.

"The contributions for Malaysia via IMET for 2002 totalled US$831,000 (RM3.16 million) while an allocation of US$800,000 (RM3.04 million) had been pledged for this year."

Mohd Shafie indicated that the funding was not for local initiatives but for US-based training programmes for Malaysian military officers.

The IMET programme was first extended to Malaysia in the 1960s by the US government to pay for training or education of foreign military and a limited number of civilian personnel.

Since1994, when Malaysia received US$305,000 (RM1.16 million), allocations for the country have increased gradually, peaking in 1998 with US$939,000 (RM3.57 million).

According to defence ministry statistics, the US government has also pledged a significantly higher allocation for next year, tentatively set at US$1.2 million (RM4.56 million).