Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak said today that the United States has no right to criticise Malaysia's internal matters, claiming that the latter does not adhere to international laws and that it has violated such laws.

According to a Bernama report, Najib Tun Razak said the statement by the US Embassy in Malaysia that the Appeals Court's decision to reject the appeals of Anwar Ibrahim and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja to set aside their conviction and sentence for sodomising Azizan Abu Bakar in 1993 was a very disappointing decision, was interference in the country's internal affairs.

He said Malaysia had its own legal system involving the courts and various levels in the judiciary system and all legal decisions were under the jurisdiction of the legal system itself.

Don't interfere

"Let such matters be decided by the country's judiciary without interference from others. The US need not interfere in Malaysia's affairs including matters pertaining to the law," he cautioned.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Kuala Lumpur unanimously upheld the nine-year prison sentence o­n Anwar and six strokes of the cane and four strokes o­n Sukma Darmawan for sodomising Azizan, former driver to Anwar's wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Najib said that in the US, many things were done in violation of international principles especially when they invaded Iraq where they did not get the sanction of the United Nations (UN).

"They always say others do not obey international laws but when they attacked Iraq, they completely ignored the UN charter. They treated the UN as an irrelevant body," the defence minister added.