The targetting of 11 foreign embassies in Kuala Lumpur with suspicious packages was a stark warning only days after the deadly Bali bombings that the region has failed to dismantle terror networks.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the packages, containing threatening letters linked to the treatment of Muslims, played on heightened fears in the diplomatic community following the weekend attacks on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"All these things come immediately after the incident. Of course it sends a warning signal. It may be innocent but we can't take chances," he told reporters.

"What is most important for the countries in the region is that, while we condemn the crimes committed by terrorists, the fact remains that the whole network of these people have not totally been wiped out," he said.

Police have said the packages - which also contained compact discs and an unidentified liquid or powdery substances - were aimed at taking advantage of the security situation after the Bali bomb attacks.

Five more embassies

Five embassies - the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Australia - received packages today bringing the number of missions hit by the scare to at least 11, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah told AFP .

"You have been infected with a biochemical weapon. Curse you for what you have done to the Muslim ummah," the note in each letter said, according to the police chief.

Mustafa said police believed the letters were a hoax and the substances were harmless. He accused those responsible of playing on fears created by the Bali attacks which left 19 dead.

The bombings have been blamed on the Southeast Asian Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah, which is accused of links to the al-Qaeda network, and Indonesian police are hunting two Malaysian leaders of JI.

Kuala Lumpur's criminal investigations chief Abdul Aziz Bulat said he was "quite certain" the perpetrators were not linked to the JI.

"Their views may be opposed to what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and sympathise towards what's happening there, but they are not linked to the Al-Qaeda or JI," he said.

But Abdul Aziz said police would nevertheless investigate if there were any links between the senders and JI.

"We always have in our minds as to who are the groups responsible, because we don't want them to grow into a bigger thing," he said.

The Australian and British high commissions and the United States and French embassies said suspicious packages had arrived this morning, while police said the Russian embassy had also received a parcel.

Greenish liquid

Mustafa said packages contained compact discs with greenish liquid akin to water coolant, while Abdul Aziz said some of the packages contained solid substances.

"The US embassy received one CD with a powdery substance with it. The British package contained one CD with five pills," he said, adding the Russian package also had a powdery substance.

Japan, Germany, Thailand, Canada, the Philippines, and Singapore all received parcels on Tuesday by express mail.

The Japanese embassy, the first to receive a package, was evacuated for several hours before police gave the all-clear.

Police have said the packages, delivered by express mail, appeared to originate from Selangor as well as from Kelantan and Terengganu.

The police chief for the main embassy district, Kamal Pasha Jamal, said security had been stepped up following the incidents.

"Security at the embassies has been beefed up, we have deployed more police officers to enhance patrols in the areas," he said.

Diplomats were tight-lipped about security measures today, but the Canadian, Singapore, French, Japanese, Thai, Australian, Philippine and British missions said they were open for business.

A Philippines embassy official said security had been tightened.