KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — The Mid Valley Southkey mall in Johor Baru has confirmed that the public were evacuated from its premises following an alleged "security threat”, but stopped short of confirming the nature of the threat.

In a statement published tonight on its official Facebook page, it said: "The management of The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey (the Mall) and St. Giles Hotel Southkey (the Hotel) would like to confirm that we received a report of security threat via an anonymous phone call.”

It added that the relevant authorities including the Royal Malaysia Police and the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia were immediately informed.

"We can confirm that investigations by the relevant authorities are ongoing, and we are assisting them.

"We were instructed by the authorities to evacuate the affected areas as a proactive measure. The mall management assisted in the smooth evacuation of the Mall and Hotel.

"The safety of our guests, shoppers, tenants, employees and community remains our utmost priority,” it said in the brief statement.

Following the mall’s statement on Facebook, Mid Valley Southkey in a Facebook comment on the same post informed shoppers that they are now allowed to remove their cars from the mall.

"You are allowed to enter the car park to retrieve your car. Please follow the instructions from the ground staff for directions to enter the car park,” it said in the comment in response to a Facebook user.

Earlier, the Singapore Consulate-General in Johor Baru in a brief statement on Facebook released an advisory for Singapore citizens, stating that it was "aware of reports that visitors to the Mid Valley Southkey Mall and St Giles Hotel in Johor Baru have been asked to evacuate temporarily due to alleged security and safety concerns”.

The consulate-general had advised Singaporeans in the area to exercise caution, monitor the local news and follow the authorities’ instructions, also saying that Singaporeans who need assistance could contact the Consulate-General at +6019-791 1166 or the 24-hour MFA Duty Office at +65 6379 8800 / 8855.

Eyewitness Balbeer Singh Jessy, a 62-year-old lawyer and former journalist, told Malay Mail earlier today that the evacuation order came at 6.40pm after an alarm was triggered, and that shoppers including him were evacuated to the open-air car park in front of the mall’s main entrance.

Balbeer Singh said shoppers were initially under the impression that there was a gas leak, but that they were later told that it was a bomb threat.