PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, 14 June 2003 — The Turkish and Malaysian Prime Ministers, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mahathir Mohamad, agreed during talks here yesterday on support for the road map for peace in the Middle East, a spokesman said.

The leaders of the two moderate Muslim states wanted to see the road map succeed and were concerned about the recent upsurge in violence, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told a news conference.

Their comments came as senior US diplomat John Wolf was expected in the Middle East to begin overseeing implementation of the road map launched at a June 4 summit convened by President George W. Bush in Aqaba, Jordan.

Prospects for peace have since been set back by an explosion of violence that has left more than 60 people dead, with Israel and the radical Palestinian group Hamas declaring all-out war on each other.

Malaysia has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, and Syed Hamid said Mahathir supports the road map as a means of achieving peace even though it does not satisfy fully the wishes of the Palestinians.

“If it is a way of stopping violence and bringing both parties to the negotiating table that’s what we are supporting, if that’s what the Palestinians want.”

Erdogan arrived here earlier in the day for a three-day official visit, accompanied by his wife, Emine, and a 200-member entourage including five ministers.

Mahathir and Erdogan also discussed bilateral issues and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the energy and water sectors was signed, Syed Hamid said. The Turkish premier will today attend a business lunch hosted by the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The United States is expanding its port security initiatives to the Middle East, Turkey and Malaysia in the second phase of global cargo inspections, US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said in Washington on Thursday. Ridge said that $170 million would be allocated for the expansion of container inspections, and another $58 million for a separate program.

Since the terror attacks of September 2001, the US has set up investigation teams at 20 major ports abroad that work side by side with local national inspectors to identify, target, and search high-risk cargo. The new locations will include areas of the Middle East such as Dubai as well as Turkey and Malaysia, Ridge said.

In an unrelated development, Malaysia will start calling up 18-year-olds of both sexes next year for compulsory national service aimed at instilling patriotism and building national unity, the government announced yesterday.

Defense Minister Najib Razak told a news conference that anyone refusing the three-month call-up could be fined up to 3,000 ringgit ($790) or jailed for six months or both.

They would then still be required to undergo national service. Najib said Malaysia’s program would differ from those in other countries, such as neighboring Singapore, where military training is part of the national defense requirements. “Ours is designed for nation-building, with about 30 percent military and physical components,” he said.

Apart from basic military and firearms training, it will include “patriotic training”, character-building and community service, he said. This would involve learning about the country’s constitution, policies and laws, and working experience with government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The national service plan has received strong support from Mahathir, who has warned that racial ties in multicultural Malaysia have weakened, particularly among young people. Malaysia’s population of 23 million is made up 65 percent Malays and other indigenous groups, 26 percent ethnic Chinese and nearly eight percent ethnic Indians.

Najib said that initially a total of 100,000 youths would be randomly selected by computer from about half a million of those eligible, but the selection would take into account factors such as race, gender and state of origin, “It will reflect the Malaysian identity as a multi-cultural country. This is not a political program. This is about nation-building.”