Badawi said he was not at all surprised by the decision of the Republican-led congress to call for economic and diplomatic sanctions against Damascus

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (IslamOnline.net) - Malaysia expect the U.S. to take steps to attack Syria by all means, including imposing sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, said Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday, April 20.

“I expected it, that’s their way. If they don’t attack then that’s their plan,” said the Deputy Prime Minister who is acting as PM in the absence of Mahathir Mohamad, Bernama news agency reported on April 20.

Mahathir is on leave and will resume his post as PM on June 1st while Badawi is to replace him at the helm of Malaysia ’s leadership in October this year.

The Malaysian Premier said it was the moral responsibility of the U.S. and Britain to reconstruct Iraq after it toppled Saddam Hussein.

Malaysia was against the war on Iraq , urging the U.S. to deal with the Arab nation with peaceful means, reported Bernama on Sunday.

Mahathir has also urged the U.S. not to attack Syria and to respect the Arab nation for its anti-Iraq stance. He said the U.S. should use all peaceful means available and should not push for another war in the region.

Badawi explained that the U.S. was expected to act against Syria after all, adding that he was not at all surprised by the decision of the Republican-led congress to call for economic and diplomatic sanctions against Damascus .

He also said there was no need for countries to follow suit if the United States imposes diplomatic and economic sanctions on Syria .

“If sanctions are to be imposed, they should come from the United Nations. If the United States proposes the move, then other countries are not compelled to follow,” he said.

The Malaysian leader’s statement shows the growing mistrust in the policies of the U.S. with regards to the Middle East and towards Muslim countries.

The U.S. accused Syria of harboring terrorists and of hiding weapons of mass destruction. Malaysia is showing growing sign of support for Syria and is distancing itself again from the U.S. with which it had close ties after the September 11th attacks on U.S. soil.

Badawi supported his defense of Syria with the statement that eight Islamic countries, including Iraq ’s six neighbors had strongly rejected the U.S. proposal for sanctions against Syria . He added that the U.S. had been observing Syria for a long time, though Syria is not part of the axis of evil declared by U.S. President George Bush.

“The U.S. knew that it was powerful and no country could oppose it so if it sees that a country is not good, that country is wrong and is against it, it will act and no one can stop it,"  the moderate Badawi suggested.

"Even with Iraq , it did not care about the power of the United Nations," he said.

U.S. losing Anti-Terror Friends

Observers in Kuala Lumpur were quick to point out that the U.S. is losing many of its anti-terror friends and that it will not win the confidence of these countries that has now been shied away by its leadership in International affairs.

“The Iraq war and now the plans to attack Syria will worsen the relations between the Islamic nations in the South East Asian region and the U.S. and this will be one tough battle lost by the United States ,” said a political analyst in Kuala Lumpur .

Malaysia joined the cohorts of Islamic nations that called for the U.S. forces to leave Iraq and allow the battered country to decide its future on its own.

News that the U.S. will keep military bases in Iraq for long term cooperation with any new Iraqi regime is viewed as a gross interference in the affairs of the New Iraq, said Professor Hakim, who is a lecturer in politics in a local University in the capital city.

Hakim, however, believes there will be little consensus within the Islamic world if the U.S. did attack Syria, which will be left alone to defend itself just like Iraq was left alone in the crushing defeat inflicted to the Saddam regime.

Interference in Malaysia ’s Internal Affairs

Malaysia has also criticized the U.S. for what it called the latter’s interference in Malaysia ’s affairs. Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak on Monday, April 21, said to Bernama that in the U.S. , many things were done in violation of international principles especially when they invaded Iraq where they did not get the sanction of the United Nations (UN).

"They always say others do not obey international laws but when they attacked Iraq , they completely ignored the UN charter. They treated the UN as an irrelevant body," he added.

The U.S. does not have the right to criticize Malaysia ’s judiciary, which is independent and efficient, he added.

The Minister added that the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia had interfered in the country’s internal affairs with a statement by the embassy calling the rejection of an appeal by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja in a sodomy case as a very disappointing decision.