Malaysian officials said it was Singapore's right to make such a purchase. But the mood changed with a report that Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said Singapore "welcomed" any attacks following its purchase of the advanced missiles.

A Singapore newspaper attributed the remark to the former prime minister who, in confirming the arms acquisition, said the island republic had to rely on modern technology to balance a shortage of manpower.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the statement did "not contribute to the peace and stability of the region".

"It is not proper to take a posture of boasting of a nation's defence assets as if you expect an immediate attack from someone," he said. The minister described the statement as offensive and a "show of arrogance".

Abdul Ghani Othman, the Chief Minister of Johor, the Malaysian state bordering Singapore, said it reflected a "siege mentality".

Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak said Mr Lee's reported remark was inappropriate. He said he did not rule out the possibility that Malaysia would buy the same missiles.

More alarming for many Malaysians than Singapore's new weapons purchase was a report that Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation, was seeking help from Israel to refurbish the C-130 transport planes of its air force and to supply electronic surveillance equipment and radar. Neither Indonesia nor Malaysia have diplomatic ties with Israel.

A leading columnist said if the report was accurate, Malaysia would soon have two neighbours equipped with Israeli defence technology and military expertise. Singapore turned to Israel for help in building its defence soon after it was pushed out of the Federation of Malaysia in 1965.

Writing in the New Straits Times, analyst A. Kadir Jasin said Singapore had developed a strike policy that would "neutralise much of the southern end of peninsular Malaysia in case of an armed conflict".

The columnist said the policy bore a close resemblance to Israel's defence strategies against its Arab neighbours. "With Indonesia likely to become a client of Israel, our defence strategists and policymakers must re-examine our defence requirements," he said