Ipoh police chief Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said the small-scale exercise was to assess the preparedness of agencies involved, including the police, PUO, and Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, to handle terrorism-related crises as outlined by the National Security Council.

He added that the presence of police personnel, security and medical vehicles, and a police air operations force helicopter at the polytechnic was part of the exercise, codenamed “Ex Kurung”.

“These drills are conducted periodically to evaluate the effectiveness of crisis response plans in ensuring public safety and security.

“The public is advised not to panic or to spread unverified information regarding this incident and exercise,” he said in a statement.

Abang Zainal said the district control centre received a call at 9.04am from a PUO security officer reporting an “attack” by an armed group.

“The unidentified group allegedly took a lecturer and several students hostage. This scenario was the opening phase of the drill,” he said.

Several videos had gone viral on social media claiming that a terrorist attack had occurred at PUO, with reports of gunfire and students being taken hostage.