Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has ordered increased security measures across the country in the face of the recent Jakarta attack and increasing terror threat in the wider region.
After chairing the National Security Council meeting in Putrajaya on Tuesday Najib ordered joint patrols by policemen and soldiers in public places, especially in tourist hotspots such as Bintang and Kuala Lumpur, according to Channel News Asia.
"We want the people to feel safe and reassured. We want the people to continue their business as normal and not to be overly concerned as the authorities have the situation under control," Najib said, according to The Star.
The latest move shows Malaysia is bunkering down to face the terror challenge and it comes days after the detention of a suspected would-be suicide bomber over the weekend in Kuala Lumpur.
The prime minister said more than 100 people have been detained for activities allegedly linked to the Islamic State terror group.
"The joint patrols by the police and military will reassure the people that the government is concerned over any eventuality," Najib said.
Najib also reassured the country that there was no immediate terror threat and aske people not to panic.
"This is not any emergency declaration. It is just increasing the level of patrol preparedness, basically to reassure the public that we are in control of the situation," he said, according to the Rakyat Post.
The prime minister said he could not define the the 'level of alarm' at this point. "We cannot define it in terms of threat levels. However, what we want to do is to increase the level of sensitivity and preparedness."
