KL to brief envoys on security

KL to brief envoys on security

MALAYSIA: The government will hold a security briefing for all foreign ambassadors in Malaysia to assure them the country is safe after the United States renewed warnings about possible terror attacks in Southeast Asia, a senior official said on Sunday.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the briefing was necessary because some foreign governments "have the perception that since our country is an Islamic country, we are considered unsafe."

The U.S. State Department last week reissued warnings to Americans in Malaysia, expressing "continuing concern" that terrorist attacks similar to last October's nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, which killed 202 people, were still possible in other Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia.

Malaysia's Sabah state was of special concern because of its proximity to the southern Philippines, where the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group "remains a security threat," said the statement, which replaced an earlier, similar advisory which expired. --AP