Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad chaired his 883rd and last weekly cabinet meeting today, taking another swipe at the United States in the row over his criticism of Jews.

Responding to a decision by President George W Bush's administration to oppose a Senate move to sanction Malaysia over the remarks, he said: "Thank you very much, but we run this country in our own interests and in our own way."

The State Department said the Bush administration believed Mahathir had already been adequately rebuked for his remarks and that his successor deserved a chance "to take a different stance" before being punished financially.

But Mahathir told a news briefing that the cabinet, which includes his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, shared his views and "others cannot influence us or threaten us that way."

Asked whether there was government consensus over his comments about the Jews, Mahathir said: "It is a government stand. This morning the cabinet decided this is the stand of the government."

Arms buying spree

The prime minister, who retires on Friday after 22 years in power, told an Islamic conference here in mid-October: "The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."

The US Senate on Monday voted to cut RM4.6 million in military aid unless the State Department determined that Malaysia "supports and promote religious freedoms, including tolerance for people of the Jewish faith".

Mahathir, whose government has ordered billions of dollars worth of new military equipment in the past two years, brushed that threat aside yesterday, saying: "It doesn't make any difference to us. We don't really need that money."

The aid was earmarked for military training in a country seen until recently as a major ally in the US-led war on terrorism.

But Malaysia's relations with Washington have nosedived after reaching a high point in May last year when Mahathir was welcomed at the White House by Bush.

Since then, while maintaining his strong condemnation of terrorism and detaining local Islamic militants, Mahathir has been increasingly critical of Bush's handling of the campaign.

He has accused the US of using the war on terrorism as a pretext for a war on Islam, and predicted that invading Iraq would simply inflame Muslim hatred of the US and create more terrorists.

'A bit sad'

Malaysia is a moderate mainly-Muslim country which has large practising Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, but it has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

Mahathir said of his last cabinet meeting: "It's a bit sad and I say goodbye to all of them."

Asked for his parting advice, he urged his ministers "to give Abdullah every support the way they supported me."

Mahathir will address parliament for the last time on Thursday.

Abdullah, who will be formally sworn-in by King Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin at 3pm on Friday, is expected to adopt a far less confrontational style than the outspoken Mahathir. - AFP