(AFP) - The government has warned the United States that new visa restrictions on Muslim men would damage its claim that Islam is not the enemy in the war on terrorism.

The warning came from Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi amid a chorus of protests over the US move, under which Muslim men aged 16 to 45 will have to complete a detailed questionnaire and wait 20 days for visas.

Abdullah called the assumption that young Muslim males could be terrorists "wild and arbitrary", according to Bernama news agency.

With the new visa curbs, the US campaign that it was not anti-Islam in the fight against terrorist activities would not be successful, the agency quoted him as saying during a visit to Singapore yesterday.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the regulation suggested that the US was shifting its focus increasingly to Muslims and Muslim countries.

"This is disheartening as we know that presently there are also terrorists among non-Muslims," he said, referring to the Oklahoma City bombing by American Timothy McVeigh in 1995.

Information Minister Khalil Yaakob also weighed in on the issue today, saying the US "cannot regard all Muslims as its enemies".

"Why the need to ask the background whether a Muslim had undergone training in handling firearms, what's the relevance?" he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Khalil pointed out that some countries required their citizens to undergo national service, and Malaysia's cadet scheme involved certain aspects of military training.

"If they want to become terrorists, it is not necessary for them to undergo military training at an early stage. They can train at a later stage," he said.

No basis

Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak said at the weekend that Malaysia should not have been included in the list as it had "continuously campaigned against terrorism acts by various groups.

"We are sad over this decision. I don't see the basis for the US to drag Malaysia into the issue of fighting terrorism."

Countries affected by the new rules are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The government has condemned the Sept 11 terrorist attack on the US which led to the visa curbs, but has criticised the retaliation against Afghanistan.