Recent travel advisories warning Westerners they risk terror attacks in Southeast Asia may have a severe impact on the fragile economies of the region, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Abar said Monday.

"In the first place, the travel warning is not necessary. If you want to discourage the development of countries, this is the best way of punishing the countries.

"They would not be able to grow, their trade and investments will suffer. Tourism, which is a very big source of income, will also suffer," Syed Hamid said in a CNN television interview.

Australia, the United States and other Western countries have warned their citizens of the dangers of travel to Southeast Asia after the Oct 12 Bali bombing in Indonesia.

A US State Department warning last week specifically mentioned Malaysia as a country where Westerners could be at risk of attack by the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorist network, blamed for the Bali bombing.

The warning caused outrage here, with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad rapping the United States for disregarding Malaysia's cooperation in the war on terrorism.