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