Unfazed by the latest bomb blasts in Indonesia which killed some 200 people, Malaysian police today described the security situation in the country, particularly Kuala Lumpur, as "very safe and sound".

A Bukit Aman police headquarters spokesperson said they saw no need to beef up security in the wake of the Saturday night carnage in the tourist island of Bali as "it is not our style to take action only after an untoward incident has taken place".

"Our measures are pro-active. We do our job before something bad happens and [as such] we don't think it is necessary to increase patrol or send any extra personnel [to places frequented by foreigners]," he said.

When asked, he said Malaysian police had not requested for information from their Indonesian counterparts regarding the Bali incident since it has no connection with Malaysia.

"No one has been implicated so we don't have to ask for any cooperation and information from them. Furthermore, they have not asked for our cooperation on the matter," he explained.

Paradigm shift in policing

When contacted, Kuala Lumpur acting police chief Dell Akbar Khan said there was merely a "paradigm shift" in the way police work instead of a real increase in patrol and other security measures in the capital city.

"We just asked our men to be more alert. We have been patrolling areas with nightspots and foreigners but before this, we did not give them high priority. There will be more attention to these places now but there is no increase in the manpower deployed," he said.

He added the security situation in Kuala Lumpur is not on "terror alert" as reported by a local English tabloid today.

The bomb blasts at two night clubs, described as the "worst act of terror in Indonesia's history" had killed at least 187 people and wounded 300, mostly foreigners.

Meanwhile, the Australian High Commission said it is "monitoring the security situation closely to ensure the safety of their staff, family members and visitors".

Deputy High Commissioner Nicholas Brown said they were not alarmed about any possible security trouble here although their government said yesterday that Jemaah Islamiah (JI) could be behind the attacks in Indonesia.

JI is a regional militant group said to be seeking to establish Islamic states in Southeast Asian countries. Recently, several Malaysians suspected to be JI members were held under the Internal Security Act.

No claim of responsibility

There was no claim of responsibility for the Bali explosion but Indonesian cleric and alleged JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir said yesterday that Muslims including himself may be blamed for the attack which he suspected to be "the work of foreigners, most probably the United States".

Both Abu Bakar and another JI leader Hambali have been in Malaysia previously and are now on the wanted list of Malaysian police.

The US embassies in Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia were closed for days in conjunction with the first anniversary of Sept 11 attacks after receiving what it claimed to be "a credible and specific security threat".

The US embassy, closed today for Columbus Day, was unavailable for comments.

Last week, Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, an American citizen who was studying in the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur was alleged to be a terrorist suspect linked to the al-Qaeda network.

His passport was revoked by his government, which led to the subsequent arrest by Malaysian police and deportation to the US.