The Prime Minister expressed his unhappiness that the two Asean members had failed to respect Malaysia's sensitivity by sending their diplomats to attend the briefing on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by Parti Keadilan Nasional president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Mar 29.

"We never try to get involved in the internal affairs of their countries, so we expect them to accord us the same respect.

"I regret that they see fit to send their representatives to attend the briefing and I hope this will not happen again in future,'' he told reporters after visiting Angkasapuri.

Diplomats from France, New Zealand, Australia and the United States were among those who turned up for the briefing by Dr Wan Azizah on the medical condition of her husband.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar on Apr 4 confirmed that diplomats from Indonesia and Singapore were among several foreign representatives who attended the closed-door briefing.

Dr Mahathir said although the government was irked by the foreign diplomats' involvement in the briefing, there was no immediate plan to call them to explain their actions although it was within the Government's right to do so.

"However, let me remind the people, that if they keep on inviting foreigners to meddle in our internal affairs, don't be surprised if one day they (foreigners) end up controlling the country,'' he added.

An AFP report April 7 from Jakarta said the attendance of an Indonesian diplomat at a meeting to discuss the health of jailed Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim was a mistake and not a political gesture.

In a lengthy statement published by newspapers Apr 7, Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said the diplomat who attended the meeting with Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail did so out of "human error".

"It is a matter of human error, as before attending the meeting, our diplomats received assurances that the meeting had clearance from the Malaysian government," Shihab was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

"The problem was we did not cross check the information.

"There was no political motive at all. It was totally a matter of miscommunication," Shihab said.