WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday it was concerned about the safety of its citizens in Malaysia, warning they could fall prey to Southeast Asian terror groups.

Malaysia has in the past reacted furiously to such warnings - in May, the government claimed it was more dangerous in the United States than in its territory.

It is also the first such public announcement since the retirement last week of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who often ridiculed the State Department's warnings to Americans on Malaysian territory.

In a public announcement, the State Department reiterated its "ongoing concern about the safety of American citizens and interests, especially along the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah."

It said its concern was motivated by "the presence of terrorist organizations in Southeast Asia."

The warning came a month after six Indonesian and Filipino workers were kidnapped from a resort on the coast of eastern Sabah.

Local police said the abductions were carried out by local criminals, and dismissed the notion that foreign terror groups were involved.

Malaysia did win an acknowledgement in Friday's public announcement over the improvement in its anti-terror efforts following a kidnapping by the radical Philippines-based Muslim Abu Sayyaf group in 2000.

"Since then, the Malaysian government has substantially increased its police and military presence in the region, notably near popular Western tourist destinations," the department said.

"Nonetheless, the region is large and remote and in many locations, which include open waters between the mainland and offshore resorts, emergency assistance may not always be available.

"For these reasons, American citizens should avoid eastern Sabah."

Do not distinguish

The warning also noted the threat to Americans in the region from the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group, which was blamed for the nightclub bombings last year in Bali, Indonesia, and other attacks on western targets.

"Extremist groups in the region have demonstrated their capability to carry out transnational attacks in locations where Westerners congregate.

"Terrorist groups do not distinguish between official and civilian targets."

The warning superceded a previous advisory issued on May 14 in which the State Department said Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network could have been planning new attacks on US citizens and interests in Malaysia.

A typically sardonic Mahathir responded to that warning by saying : "I'd like to remind them that the attack on the World Trade Centre was on American soil, not here. So America is much more dangerous than Malaysia." - AFP