Malaysia has deployed its first tsunami buoy in an effort to provide advance warning of killer waves that may be generated by earthquakes, the meteorological department said.

It was positioned near the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, 500 kilometres from Langkawi island, after being released with cooperation from Jakarta, the department said in a statement.

The buoy would "be able to detect tsunami waves that are generated by a large earthquake in the Indian Ocean near Sumatra region and provide warning to residents in Malaysia at least one hour in advance," it said.

A second buoy is scheduled to be released in January in the Sulu Sea, while a third is slated for February in the South China Sea.

Real time data

The department said data from the buoys would be transmitted in real time via satellite link to its earthquake and tsunami early warning centre at its headquarters near the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Data would also be shared with other Southeast Asian countries and exchanged internationally, it said.

A massive undersea earthquake off Sumatra triggered the giant waves in December last year, which hit as far west as Africa, and killed at least 220,000 people in Indian Ocean nations.

Malaysia suffered less than its neighbours because most of its mainland peninsula was shielded from the killer surge, although 68 people were killed.