Malaysia will hold a briefing for foreign envoys in the country in a bid to reassure them of the nation's safety, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.

"We will again give a briefing to all the foreign envoys in Kuala Lumpur. Let them satisfy themselves...we don't have any incident to hide," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is to arrange the meeting as soon as possible to explain the true security situation in the country, he said.

The US and Germany have issued terror alerts to citizens travelling in Malaysia, urging nationals to "exercise extreme caution". Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed the warnings, saying Washington was afraid of its own shadow.

Safe destination

Abdullah, who is also Home Minister, said that the briefing was to explain that Malaysia was a safe destination and that the government constantly took steps to ensure security in the country.

"During the briefing we will ask the foreign envoys to convey the information that they get here to their respective countries or foreign ministries," he said.

Abdullah said Malaysia could not stop a country from issuing travel advisories to their citizens but added he was disappointed that the "foreign missions here did not make adequate assessment".

"They o­nly make assumption, they have the perception that (since) our country is an Islamic country, it's not safe," he said.

"The envoys should make periodic reports to their governments o­n the true situation, that Malaysia is safe and has nothing to hide."

On whether the government would step up security following the recent suicide bombings in Riyadh and Casablanca, he said Malaysia was always o­n the alert and had an effective monitoring system.

"I pray that it doesn't happen in our country. I don't see such incidents happening in our country at this time," he said.

Asked whether the US had passed intelligence o­n terrorist activities to the Malaysian government, Abdullah said that so far, it had not, but there was cooperation between the two countries o­n the matter.

Constantly monitored

He said security at all the foreign missions and foreign-owned companies and factories, especially those of the US, was constantly monitored by the authorities.

"At the same time, we must promote our country as being peaceful, safe and prosperous while its people must be courteous, friendly and have a good disposition," he said.

He added that even German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who visited Malaysia recently, had said that it was a safe country although initially he had misgivings about coming here.

Malaysia has said a renewed US warning to its nationals against visiting the Southeast Asian nation was uncalled for and unfair as it did not accurately reflect the country's security situation.

Malaysian government officials have dismissed the latest US advisory, saying there was no indication of any possible attacks and that all adequate security measures were in place.

Mahathir in November said the US warning disregarded Malaysia's cooperation in the anti-terror war during which it has detained more than 70 suspected Islamic militants.

Malaysia was among several Southeast Asian states which bristled at a series of US travel warnings last year, upset that their portrayal as possible sites for terror attacks could damage their economies and vital tourism industries. - AFP