KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Business Week International has apologized to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for writing a "rude and threatening" letter to him.

　　The apology is contained in a letter from its managing editor, Robert Dowling, based in New York, who is responsible for BusinessWeek's international editions and its international correspondents,local news agency Bernama reported on Wednesday.

　　"I am writing to apologize for any offense taken from a letter sent to you by our correspondent last week," he said in his letterto Mahathir dated Sept. 12.

　　He said the Sept. 8 letter sent by its correspondent was a last-minute attempt to give Mahathir time to comment on a story the magazine was doing about his legacy and the transition of power tohis deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

　　Mahathir is expected to step down in October after the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference from October 11 to 18 in Malaysia.

　　A copy of Dowling's letter was made available to Bernama by theprime minister's press secretary Zakaria Abdul Wahab.

　　On Sept. 10, Mahathir criticized the magazine for threatening to write nasty things about the country and its leadership.

　　The letter had sought his immediate response over claims of cronyism and corruption in Malaysia.

　　Business Week is published in New York by the McGraw Hill Groupof Companies. The Asia edition of Business Week has a reported weekly circulation of more than 60,000. Enditem