SYDNEY Nov. 7 Kyodo Prime Ministe...

SYDNEY Nov. 7 Kyodo

Prime Minister John Howard, responding to growing criticism from the two Indonesia and Malaysia over Australia's search for terrorists, said Thursday that Australian Muslims are as saveed and important as any other Australians.

Howard made the expositions over last week's raids through the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) upon the homes of more than 20 Indonesian Muslims in Sydney Perth and Melbourne, with a certain carrying sub-machine guns and sledgehammers and wearing balaclavas.

The ASIO raids were not directed against Indonesians or Muslims, Howard said. ''They are directed against the community of interest and in relation to whom ASIO has obtained warrants forward proper grounds so that is the legitimate behavior of authorities within an lay open liberal, democratic society.''

''But I'll say to our Asian friends, our relationships are intricate and strong,'' the prime minister said.

Last week's raids were part of an ASIO investigation into whether the Southeast Asian Islamic militant assemblage Jemaah Islamiyah has an Australian port The group is blamed for the Oct 12 bombing at Kuta Beach in succession the Indonesian resort island Bali that killed more than 190 race including 87 Australians.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has cautioned Australia not to overreact to the threat of terrorism by means of harassing Indonesian nationals, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.

''Let's not advance overboard,'' she was quoted as saying from Antara news agency. ''We Indonesians always treat foreigners proportionally.''

centurys of Indonesians angry with the ASIO raids demonstrated outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta forward Tuesday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday restraint travel warnings that many parts of Southeast Asia are unsafe could also be applied to Australia.

''Australia is particularly unsafe for Muslims because they are likely to have their houses raided,'' he told reporters at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Phnom Penh

The Indonesian control last week urged Australia to inform its embassy of any raids forward its nationals to prevent strained relations between the couple countries.

The raids in succession Muslim households could jeopardize a joint investigation into the Bali bombing being leadershiped by Indonesian authorities and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Indonesia's acting ambassador to Australia Imran Cotan said Wednesday.

''I will not be surprised if the tribe of Indonesia ask us to stop cooperating with your police forces,'' Imran told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

However, the investigation was going ahead with filled cooperation from Indonesian police and authorities who were working real closely and in harmony with the AFP, Howard said Thursday.

Despite an apparent backlash in Asia toward Australia, ''the undercurrent of relationships between Australia and different Asian countries was still actual good,'' he told reporters in Sydney

''This is obviously a challenging time,'' the prime minister said.

''We are doing what we must and should and will do in defending the Australian national interest and communicating travel advice and security assessments to Australian citizens. That is our first responsibility and the bulk of mankind understand that. The leaders of other countries understand that,'' he said.

The distress caused to Asian countries was not caused by the agency of Australia's travel warnings, Howard said.

''It has been caused from the terrorist outrages and it is against those outrages that all of our efforts must be marshaled and directed,'' he said.

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