Malaysia's bilateral ties with the United States is based on the understanding that both countries are sovereign and does not interfere with each other's internal matters.

"Nobody should try to tell us how we should rule and govern our country," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar said today.

Syed Hamid was responding to Far Eastern Economic Review 's report this week that top US officials would like to see improvement in three areas before Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad could meet with US President George W Bush.

On July 16, Syed Hamid met with US Secretary of State, Colin Powell and National Security Council (NSC) adviser Scott Hadley to discuss a possible meeting between Mahathir and Bush.

Three conditions

It was reported that the 'conditions' set by the Americans included the government's treatment of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence for sodomy and abuse of power, and seeking overseas surgery for his ailing back.

The other two were the detention of six Keadilan leaders under the Internal Security Act and delays in the distribution of foreign magazines which included the Review and Asiaweek .

According to the Review , Syed had asked about a possible meeting between Bush and Mahathir at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Shanghai in October.

"You first have to do what has to be done," NSC deputy director Hadley was reported as telling Syed Hamid.

US-Malaysian relations have been chilly when former US vice president Al Gore openly declared his sympathies for the 'reformasi' movement at the 1998 Apec meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

It is believed that Mahathir is seeking to improve ties with the new US administration, which is considered to be less "interventionist" than former US president Bill Clinton's administration.

Syed Hamid told reporters today that the Anwar issue was a pending legal case under the Malaysian law and other countries should learn to respect it.

"In terms of Anwar, it is a legal matter subject to appeal. That is the legal process in Malaysia and countries should respect that," Syed Hamid added.

'Shallow thinking'

When questioned on the latest Harakah report criticising the government for allowing US troops to conduct military exercises in Malaysia, Syed Hamid said that the PAS party organ exhibited "shallow thinking'.

"Their views is shallow and it shows an inability to understand international matters and matters pertaining to strategic interests," he said.

The joint military exercises in mid-July, which were participated by both Malaysian and US troops, took place in Johor and Malacca.

"The military exercises were not something abnormal. They were done to enable them (Malaysian troops) to gain more professional knowledge and to create better understanding amongst military personnel of both countries and gain new expertise," Syed Hamid said.

He added that the military exercises was a routine matter and that allowing the exercises does not make a country less 'Islamic'.

"The fact you have military exercises does not mean you surrender your sovereignty or the fact we have changed our foreign policy. We have an agreement with them, so this is part of the agreement."

Syed Hamid said that other Islamic countries also have joint exercises with the US.

"The Arab countries have many joint exercises with the US. The US has bases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and many others," he said.