Australian action against Muslims suspected of links to terrorism were "rather heavy handed", Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak said today.

He was responding to questions over a crackdown after the Bali bomb attack in which the Australian homes of a number of Indonesian Muslims were raided by Australia's domestic intelligence agency.

"We are concerned with the treatment of Muslims during the investigations. It seemed that methods used were rather heavy-handed," Najib told reporters.

The issue was first raised by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Cambodia Tuesday, when he said the raids showed that in the war on terrorism Australia was "particularly unsafe for Muslims".

"They are likely to have their houses raided and I see pictures of doors being broken which I don't think is essential, so people are today exposed to danger wherever they may be," Mahathir said.

Najib also criticised warnings by Australia and western governments against travel to Southeast Asia in the wake of the Bali attack, which killed nearly 200 people, most of them tourists.

Same risks

"I think the risks are the same. We talk about risks of any form of terrorism, they are the same, whether you are in Kuala Lumpur, Sydney or in London and probably Washington...

"So you cannot say that just being in Malaysia warrants a high risk factor because terrorists can strike anywhere."

Asked whether Malaysia's relations with Australia were souring, Najib said: "We'll have to wait and see."

Relations between the two countries have been sensitive for years, with Mahathir seen as a major stumbling block to Australia's desire to be accepted in Asian political forums. AFP