Kuala Lumpur said yesterday it was shocked by news a letter sent from Malaysia to a Microsoft Corp office in Reno, Nevada was found to contain anthrax and offered its full support for a probe.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the government was deeply disturbed by the reports and has asked the FBI to provide more information, the national Bernama news agency reported.
"At this time, we have not been able to confirm the aforementioned letter did indeed originate from Malaysia or that it was not tampered with in the United States itself," he said. "As a matter of policy, the government wishes to state that it takes all such reports very seriously and will extend its fullest support and cooperation to the US authorities to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Nevada state officials said anthrax had been discovered in the envelope mailed to the software giant from Malaysia.
State authorities tested the envelope's contents after being contacted by the Reno office of Microsoft Licensing, a unit of the Redmond, Washington-based software company.
Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said health officials would hold a meeting this week to discuss whether the anthrax could have originated in Malaysia.
"At the moment, we would like to tell the Malaysian people ... as far as we know there is no anthrax here. At the moment there is nothing," he said.
The suspicious envelope contained pornographic magazine clippings that appeared to have had contact with moisture. The anthrax was discovered on one of the magazine clippings.
US authorities tried to calm a jittery nation after anthrax scares sparked fears that the postal system was being used to wage biological warfare just days after the FBI warned of possible new attacks on the US.
In his weekly radio address, President George W. Bush said the US was acting to protect itself against terrorism and its people should not be afraid.
"I understand that many Americans are feeling uneasy, but all Americans should be assured we are taking strong precautions. We are vigilant; we are determined. The country is alert, and the great power of the American nation will be felt," he said.
Even so, the nation was on edge after more letters turned out to contain the potentially deadly anthrax bacteria.
Federal health officials have discovered five additional cases of anthrax exposure among co-workers of a Florida man who died two weeks ago after inhaling the potentially lethal bacteria, the New York Times said.
In New York City, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said one of two suspicious letters addressed to NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw contained traces of anthrax.
On Friday, one of Brokaw's assistants, 38-year-old Erin O'Connor, tested positive for skin anthrax, making her the fourth confirmed case of exposure to anthrax since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the US.
News of the NBC case led companies around the country to shut down their mailrooms on Friday, sent people scurrying to hospital emergency rooms, prompted patients to pressure doctors for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and the US Postal Service to warn people to be vigilant for suspicious packages.
The FBI has opened criminal inquiries into the anthrax cases.
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