In a brief response to FMT, the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur said there has been no change to the travel advisory which remains at Level 1.

“(Level 1) is the lowest level out of four.”

The embassy was asked to respond to a claim by a US professor, Bruce Gilley, who had earlier sparked controversy after claiming at a Universiti Malaya talk that Malaysia was pushing for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people”.

Gilley, a professor of political science at Portland State University, said he had left Malaysia due to safety concerns caused by an “Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government there”.

“This is not a safe country to travel to now,” he said in a post on X.

A check on the US state department’s website, says Level 1 is the “lowest advisory level for safety and security risk” although there is some risk in any international travel. It urges travellers to exercise normal precautions.

Level 4, meanwhile, advises US citizens against travelling to the country or to leave as soon as possible.

“That is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. The US government may have very limited ability to provide assistance, including during an emergency,” the advisory reads.