Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysian Home Minister, calling opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim 'a snitch', said he should not report to Washington every time he faces a crisis in the country.

'If he wants to be the leader of this country, he should stop doing this,' said Datuk Seri Syed Hamid, who described the former deputy prime minister and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leader as a "tukang lapor" (snitch).

He also hit out at Washington, saying that it had no right to intervene in Malaysia's domestic affairs.

'Moreover, this matter is still under investigation and there is still no conclusion yet,' he told reporters at the Parliament lobby on Wednesday.

He said politicians and prominent figures were not excluded from being investigated or governed by the law.

'This is not politics but an issue that involves some allegations that need to be investigated, so please do not politicise it,' he said.

On whether the country is threatened by Washington's warning, Mr Syed Hamid said: 'The United States always tries to warn small states like us but we have never been threatened or feel threatened by it as there is a system of international law.'

In Bangkok, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said he would write to US State Department spokesman Tom Casey asking him to explain Washington's action 'to oppose any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures' with regards to the sodomy allegation against Datuk Seri Anwar.

Dr Rais, who is on a three-day visit to Thailand, said the police should be allowed to conduct their investigations within the law.

However, DAP chairman Karpal Singh said other countries had the right to make necessary observations on Malaysia regarding Mr Anwar's case.

'We have made observations against other countries, their legal and political system," he said. 'Likewise, other countries have the right to make necessary comments regarding this case.' .

He said many countries were watching it to ensure that justice was served.

'It has always been a stand of many countries after what happened in 1998, where Anwar was charged with sodomy and later cleared by the Federal Court, that there were political elements and conspiracy involved,' he said. -- The Star/ANN.