A spokesman for the Arab Students Association Malaysia said the move shows that local authorities are merely reacting to an attack, rather than actually improving security.

“What is worse is that they seem to think anyone from the Middle East is a security threat.

“Profiling is hurtful and prejudiced, and worse, it will not improve security, but rather make it seem that certain people are a danger to the country.”

Saudi Arabian IT-student Haider Jama said that if he wanted to put up with profiling and visa applications, “it would be better for me to study in Europe or America.”

Another Yemeni student, Salim al-Khaf, called the move a “regressive measure” and said that such steps taken by the West following the September 11 attacks, had not stopped further attacks.

“It is the same here…you should rely on intelligence not on assumption,” he said.

The National Security Council is currently mulling implementing visa requirements for visitors from the Middle East, to check the entry of militants into the country.

This comes following the attack on the Movida club in Puchong on June 28, which the police have confirmed was the doing of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.