KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia): The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Britain's Scotland Yard have cleared Malaysia of any involvement in the attacks in Mumbai, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said yesterday.

He said this confirmed Malaysia had no links with the gunmen who terrorised Mumbai.

"The so-called evidence in the media linking the attacks with Islam and Malaysia cannot be proven. Therefore, allegations about Malaysia's link to the attacks should not be brought up any more," he said when responding to a question in the Dewan Rakyat.

Rais said since the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Islam's image had been tainted.

"From branding Islam as a terrorist religion to caricatures and videos that insult Islam, these humiliations seem interminable. An anti-Islam perception or Islamophobia has spread throughout the world until (all) Muslims are seen as terrorists."

He said dubbing Muslims as terrorists could not be accepted and was unfair to the religion and its adherents.

Rais said measures by Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Islamic organisations such as Organisation of the Islamic Conference had helped correct negative perceptions of Islam.

"These include forums, programmes and interfaith activities. However, the effectiveness of these programmes is limited as they cannot deter extremist groups from carrying out their activities."

He said in Malaysia, strict enforcement of the law had to be continued to fight terrorism.

He added that the South-East Asia Research Centre for Counter Terrorism here was the only research centre in the region active in anti-terrorism programmes.

An aide of Rais said the minister was informed yesterday morning that there had been no indication to suggest that Malaysia was involved in the Mumbai attacks.