SINGAPORE — Terrorists may be planning attacks in and around Kuala Lumpur, the Australian government said in an advisory posted on its website on Sunday (Feb 21).

However, Malaysia’s Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed told TODAY that Australia and the United Kingdom — which had also issued an alert to its citizens in the past week against travel to the Malaysian Borneon state of Sabah — were “acting unnecessarily” as there were no new developments that warranted such warnings.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Tajuddin Md Isa also said the security situation in the Malaysian capital city is under control.

In its advisory, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said there is an ongoing threat of terrorism in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur and other major cities, and urged Australians to remain vigilant.

“Terrorists may be planning attacks in and around Kuala Lumpur. Attacks could be indiscriminate and may target Western interests or locations frequented by Westerners. You should be particularly vigilant at this time,” it said, noting that Malaysian authorities have made a number of arrests of persons allegedly involved in planning attacks, including against entertainment venues in Kuala Lumpur.

The advisory also urged Australians to reconsider travel to the coastal region of eastern Sabah, and to exercise normal security precautions in Malaysia overall.

The advisory came after the UK warned its citizens on Thursday against travel to islands off Sabah, citing kidnapping and criminality.

Mr Nur Jazlan said both the Australian and UK governments should refrain from instilling unnecessary fear in their advisories.

He said the Malaysian government has the security situation under control and there is no need “to create panic” or to “scare anyone”.

“We have acted since the Jakarta attacks, so why are they issuing the warning now? They are just acting unnecessarily,” he said in a phone interview on Sunday.

Malaysia boosted its security measures in areas with high public traffic, including malls, hotels and tourist spots, which has seen joint patrols between the police and the army, following the Jan 14 guns and suicide bomb attacks in Jakarta which killed four civilians and four assailants.

Additional precautionary measures were also taken by the Malaysian authorities along the borders to prevent any possible infiltration by terrorists.

Mr Tajuddin said security teans at hotels, shopping centres and tourist spots have been briefed to be on alert.

“The public should not worry. But they are advised to take extra precautions and alert the police of anything suspicious,” he told TODAY in a text message.

A spokesperson from Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it will keep foreign missions updated on security developments.

“We also acknowledged the fact that foreign missions are at liberty to provide their own assessment of the security situation in their host countries albeit the fact that it may not be accurate or give a true reflection of the situation,” the spokesperson told TODAY.

This is not the first time foreign countries had warned their citizens of potential terrorist attacks in Kuala Lumpur.

In September last year, the United States Embassy and the Australian High Commission had issued travel advisories on the possibility of terrorist attacks in the tourist hotspot of Jalan Alor and its surrounding areas which they believed could happen on that day.

Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar had previously said suspected militants were believed to be plotting an attack on Malaysian soil, and were collecting funds to assist Malaysian Islamic State (IS) members wanting to travel to Syria.

Scores of Malaysians have left the country to join IS. Fourteen Malaysians were reportedly killed after joining IS in Syria. Six of them were suicide bombers and eight others were killed in clashes.

Last month, Malaysian police arrested four people, for suspected involvement in IS activities. Aged between 23 and 28, one of them was said to be planning a “lone wolf” attack at an entertainment centre in Kuala Lumpur.