The government today denied that it had warned the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur of a security threat in the capital, adding any such warning could be an attempt to undermine overseas confidence in the country.

The US embassy here in an advisory to its citizens Thursday said it has been warned by the Malaysian government of an "anonymous, unverified threat" in Kuala Lumpur.

But Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar denied the government had issued any such alert, telling the Malay-language Berita Harian that a formal statement would have been issued if such a threat existed.

"The warning could be a form of sabotage by certain parties in an attempt to undermine the confidence of foreigners towards peace in the country," Noh said, without elaborating.

Bernama news agency quoted Noh as saying that Malaysia had a stringent security system in place to protect its citizens and investors from terrorist attack, including the use of its controversial Internal Security Act which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Security measures at western embassies in the country have also been beefed up, he said.

"We have seen for ourselves how our country has been peaceful all these years while neighbouring countries are faced with terrorist attacks," he added.

Security concern

The US advisory came a day after a security scare at the Australian high commission here which turned out to be a false alarm.

Police and passers-by had heard a loud bang and saw a flash from a vehicle passing in front of the embassy late Wednesday. But police have ruled out a terror attack, saying no traces of bomb fragments were found and it was possibly just a car backfiring.

The high commission was attacked in March last year when someone in a speeding car threw a small explosive device into its compound.

There have been no major terrorist attacks on Malaysian soil but the authorities here have detained scores of alleged Muslim militants accused of belonging to regional terror groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah, which authorities say has links with the al-Qaeda network.

The police have set up a special security squad to protect foreign embassies. Most Western embassies here also have their own tight security systems in place.