Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged Malaysians not to panic over the country's first probable death from the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( Sars ).

The health ministry o­n Saturday said a 64-year-old man, who died in a Kuala Lumpur hospital after visiting China and Singapore last month, was probably Malaysia's first victim of Sars.

Abdullah yesterday said the government had set up a special ministerial committee which had implemented various measures to curb the spread of the mysterious disease.

"There's no need to panic, why should we panic?" he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

"We have stopped the entry of (certain) tourists and monitored the issuance of visas... through these measures the disease will be contained in this country."

Strict measures

Abdullah, who is filling in for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is o­n a two-month vacation, urged the people to seek immediate treatment at government hospitals if they experienced any Sars symptoms.

As of Saturday, 75 people have been screened for the illness and 14 remain quarantined in hospitals nationwide, health officials said.

Malaysia has taken strict measures to prevent the spread of the disease to its shores, especially after six people died in neighbouring Singapore which has registered 103 Sars cases.

It has advised its citizens not to travel to affected areas, halted the intake of foreign workers and trimmed the number of visas issued to tour groups from the countries concerned.

The government Saturday said all travellers coming from affected countries must now declare their health status, and has told local colleges to temporarily stop accepting students from these countries.

The killer pneumonia has killed at least 87 people and infected about 2,600 worldwide. AFP