A powerful Chinese federation in Malaysia protested Japan's bid to seek a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, saying it had not shown sincere remorse over its wartime atrocities and still had military ambitions.

The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia, grouping some 7,700 Chinese guilds and associations in the country, joined in a chorus of criticism against Tokyo over its approval of a nationalist textbook which China and South Korea say whitewashes Japanese atrocities.

"After nearly 60 years, Japan has still not apologised to the world for its atrocities during World War II and now it is distorting historical truth. We strongly object to it," federation secretary Cheng Lai Hock told AFP .

"Japan shouldn't be admitted to the UN Security Council because it only wants to expand its military ambition."

Some federation members have begun collecting protest petitions to be sent to the Japanese embassy, he added.

Ethnic Chinese are the second largest racial group in Malaysia, accounting for about a quarter of the country's 26 million population.

Protest in Johor Baru

On Monday, more than 100 members of the Johor Baru Chinese Federation and five major clans staged an anti-Japan protest in southern Johor state and urged Malaysians to boycott Japanese goods until Tokyo withdraws the textbook.

They shouted anti-Japanese slogans and burned an effigy of a Japanese Imperial Army soldier at a cemetery after paying homage to thousands of Chinese killed during Japanese occupation of then Malaya for three years from 1941.

The Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, another member of the federation, has launched a signature campaign to protest Japan's bid for a seat in the top world security body saying this would be unfair "especially to Chinese who endured great hardships as victims of the Japanese aggression".

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took a diplomatic line on the China-Japan row, saying he was confident they would be able to resolve it peacefully.

"They have had this dispute before. This is not the first time they have a dispute. I am sure they can sort it out," he told reporters yesterday.

He declined to comment when asked on Malaysia's stand, saying: "It is strictly a bilateral issue between the two countries."