The European Commission Thursday became the twelfth foreign mission in Kuala Lumpur to receive a suspicious package and warned threats to Malaysia's diplomatic community were now a serious security issue.

"The matter is that such parcels are circulating and arriving in the missions and one day it can be much more serious and much more life threatening," said Thierry Rommel, head of the EC delegation to Malaysia.

"This calls for an extreme level of vigilance," he told AFP .

Like other embassies, the package was sent by express mail through Malaysia's postal service and contained a note relating to the treatment of Muslims, a compact disc and an oily liquid, Rommel said.

The European Commission received the package Wednesday afternoon but communication difficulties resulted in Malaysian police and military not arriving at the EC office until Thursday morning, he said.

Police have called the parcels a hoax, saying they believe the liquid and powdery substances in other diplomatic packages were harmless.

But Rommel said such beliefs were cold comfort.

"We got off lightly this time but there is no guarantee about the next time, that it may be much more serious," he said.

Threatening notes

Police say the packages appear to have originated from the central state of Selangor which surrounds Kuala Lumpur, and from the northern Kelantan and Terengganu states, which are ethnic Malay Muslim heartlands.

The packages all contained threatening notes, CDs, and a oily liquid. Some included powdery substances.

"You have been infected with a biochemical weapon. Curse you for what you have done to the Muslim ummah ," police have quoted the note as saying.

Japan, Germany, Thailand, Canada, the Philippines, and Singapore were delivered parcels on Tuesday afternoon. The United States, Russia, Britain, France and Australia received packages on Wednesday morning.

Talks between diplomats and Malaysian authorities were expected.

"I think we certainly need to talk with them and see how together we can respond to this challenge here in Kuala Lumpur," Rommel said. "We really have to reflect on this seriously."

Malaysia's foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar has said the packages were a stark warning, only days after the deadly weekend bombings in the Indonesia island of Bali, that the region has failed to dismantle terror networks.