KUALA LUMPUR, October 12 (IslamOnline) - South East Asian regimes and observers said they believe that a U.S. attack on Iraq is imminent after the strong vote by the Congress giving the U.S. president the powers to go for war, news agencies said on Sunday.

Malaysia showed concern that the United States may attack Iraq based on the mandate given by the U.S. Congress, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Friday but reported on Sunday by Bernama.

Malaysia’s Albar said such a development would create much anxiety internationally as the authorization did not come from the United Nations or reflect the views of the international community.

"We believe the best way is through the United Nations," Albar said to reporters at the Brunei International Airport upon arrival on Friday night.

Indonesia and the Philippines has started moves to get their citizens out of Iraq before the U.S. attack begins, with several measures taken to take care of the incoming overseas workers.

In Jakarta, the U.S. came under attack again, this time from the Muslim organization Hizb Tahrir who lashed out at what it has described as the arrogance of the U.S., with its possible plan to attack Iraq, and the brutality of Israel against the Palestinians.

Hizbut Tahrir spokesman Muhammad Ismail Yusanto lambasted the U.S. against the perceived arrogance of the U.S. and Israel at a mass meeting in front of the Al-Ittihad Mosque in South Jakarta, the Jakarta Post reported.

Yusanto said the U.S. had been gearing up for a military invasion of Iraq, to add to the latter's misery following the Gulf War.

"With its arrogance, the U.S. -- which claims to be a leader in the global war against terrorism -- has in fact been terrorizing other countries," Yusanto said.

Malaysia, dismissing the claims by the U.S. that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction said, it had to be first satisfied that Iraq is a threat or that the weapons owned by the country has the potential to destroy the world or the region ... “only then should a decision (to attack Iraq) be made," Albar said.

He said Washington should take note that Iraq had agreed to allow UN weapon inspectors to conduct inspections in Iraq without conditions.

"When will the war end? This is worrying," he said. "The victims will definitely be the general public and this surely will not benefit anyone."

The Philippines government said it had less than a few hundred workers in Iraq but this claim was criticized by the opposition and the local press that says more than a quarter of a million Filipinos were in Iraq.

The government was forced to make plans to repatriate these workers from Baghdad and other cities in the country, showing signs that it strongly relied on its advisors who said war was imminent, Islamonline was told.

In another growing sign of concern over the imminence of war in Iraq, the Indonesian government said on Sunday it was gearing to evacuate its citizens from Iraq.

"We have undertaken the necessary preparations for the evacuation of Indonesian citizens, including embassy staff, in the event that the U.S. does attack Iraq," A ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Marty Natalegawa, said.

Natalegawa said Indonesia would stick to its policy that, whatever the U.S. would do against Iraq, it should be pursued under the authority of the United Nations, Antara reported.