Malaysia declared itself free of bird flu on Thursday and asked Singapore to lift restrictions on imports of Malaysian chickens and ducks.

Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the potentially deadly H5N1 strain had not been detected since March.

"We have contacted the Singapore authorities and informed them that they can start importing again," Muhyiddin was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

Neighboring Singapore, by far the biggest offshore buyer of Malaysian poultry, has banned imports from the affected states of central Selangor and northern Perak but still buys from southern states. Its bans have mainly hurt duck exports from Perak state.

"We are still evaluating it," a spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore said when asked if the country would now lift its import restrictions.

Malaysia has slaughtered tens of thousands of birds since the latest outbreak on March 21 when several chickens tested positive for the H5N1 virus.

Malaysia has reported no cases of human infection, though H5N1 has killed 130 people since 2003, mostly in Asia.

This is the second time Malaysia has declared itself free of bird flu. It did so in January 2005, only for the disease to re-appear a year later.

The agriculture minister said Malaysia was taking no chances of another outbreak and had itself banned the import of poultry and eggs from countries still affected by bird flu.

"All chickens, ducks, birds, eggs and their products brought into the country will be confiscated and destroyed," he said.