SINGAPORE: Kuala Lumpur wants Washington to abstain from making further statements pertaining to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the country?s rule of law.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said he had informed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about this during their bilateral talks yesterday, adding that he had explained at length the issue to her.

Heading for talks: Dr Rais walking with Rice to attend their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 41st Asean Ministerial Meeting in Singapore yesterday. ? Bernama

He said he had informed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that he would be meeting Rice on the sidelines of the Asean-related meetings here while attending the Asean Ministerial Meeting and would take the opportunity to talk to her on this issue.

?I had explained to Rice that investigations against Anwar over sodomy allegations were not in any way politically-motivated.

?I had also in fact specifically itemised the Criminal Procedure Code, which is an age-old instrument of administration of criminal law in the Commonwealth.

?I spoke on this to point out the fact that we have an entrenched and recognised system of criminal law,? he told Malaysian reporters.

Rice, just prior to her bilateral meeting with Dr Rais, had called on Malaysia to be transparent and abide strictly by the law when handling investigations against Anwar.

Rice said her government would continue to make remarks or speak out on legal cases, including that involving the PKR adviser, despite being accused of meddling in another country's internal affairs.

She said the United States had long spoken out in cases deemed to be political in nature and would continue to do so.

?We are always going to speak up on human rights cases, political cases, but again we do so in a spirit of respect for Malaysia. We certainly do not look at it as meddling. Even-handed application of the rule of law is very important,? she said.

Dr Rais said he was unaware that Rice had made such a statement prior to their meeting, adding that during their discussion he had brought up the contents of a letter which he had sent to her earlier this month.

The letter ? which was sent following a statement by US State Department officer Tom Casey on Anwar?s case ? stressed on the need for all countries, including the United States to recognise and respect the rule of law mechanism of each country.

?Rice had informed me that she understood the format and acquiesced to the kind of suggestions that we had made,? he said.

?Let us see if that is translated (to action). However, this issue has not affected relations between Malaysia and the United States.?