A diplomatic row with the Philippines and a war of words with Singapore have highlighted Malaysia's increased isolation in the Association of South-East Asian Nations and put pressure on ASEAN's traditional policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of member-states.
A quarterly meeting between Malaysia and the Philippines on joint patrols against arms smuggling and piracy has been cancelled. This follows Philippine President Mr Joseph Estrada's outspoken support for Mr Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's sacked former deputy prime minister, who is in prison awaiting trial on sex and corruption charges.
Mr Estrada had urged Malaysia to respect Mr Anwar's human rights, saying the former cabinet minister had apparently been beaten while in jail. Along with President Habibie of Indonesia - who cancelled a visit to Malaysia over the treatment of Mr Anwar - he said he would appeal to the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to change the detention to house arrest.
Dr Mahathir's former deputy was arrested on September 20th after leading thousands of antigovernment protesters through the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
About 200 people demonstrated yesterday against Mr Estrada outside the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur, with posters declaring "Estrada, Mind Your Own Business" and "Estrada Has Gone Crazy".
In Tokyo, where he is attending a conference, a combative Dr Mahathir shrugged off international criticism, saying Mr Anwar "doesn't want to be tried by the courts, he wants to be tried by street mobs who will support him and bring down the government".
Dr Mahathir also warned that Mr Anwar's wife, Ms Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, could be arrested if she took part in street demonstrations. On Saturday, Ms Wan Azizah released a statement from her husband renewing his call for an end to corruption in Malaysia.
In continuing pro-Anwar protests in Kuala Lumpur, 140 people were arrested and more than 30 beaten by police at a rally on Saturday attended by about 5,000 people. Last week, Mr Anwar was transferred from detention under Malaysia's Internal Security Act and taken to a prison cell pending trial.
Asked if the political crisis would affect next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Mahathir said it was the right of countries critical of Malaysia not to attend. No country has yet declined and the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, has confirmed he will be in Kuala Lumpur for the summit, which will discuss the Asian economic crisis. But Dr Mahathir is likely to get a cold shoulder from some leaders of APEC, which includes 18 nations.
At his Tokyo press conference he renewed his attack on hedge funds and currency trading and claimed that thanks to foreign exchange controls he had introduced, Malaysia's economy was improving. He said he had planned to step down after the APEC forum but would remain until next year because of the recession and the power vacuum created by Mr Anwar's sacking.
Dr Mahathir's position as the elder statesman of ASEAN has also been seriously eroded.
The nine-nation ASEAN is due to hold a summit in Vietnam in December. Singapore's deputy prime minister said at the weekend that although ties with Malaysia were strained, they had not reached the level of going to war, a remark which drew a sharp reaction in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia had no plans to review ties with Singapore, said the deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Leo Michael Toyad, adding that he hoped Singapore would weigh the implications carefully before making such statements.
Relations have been strained by a row over immigration procedures, use of air space and capital controls which have hit investors in Singapore. Dr Mahathir said on Saturday it would be difficult for Malaysia to be friendly with Singapore following remarks "vilifying" Malaysia's founders in a book by Singapore elder statesman Mr Lee Kuan Yew.