Kuala Lumpur: Ten people dressed in ninja-style garb have been detained after they arrived at Malaysia's royal palace in a bizarre attempt to claim the throne, police say.

The unarmed group, reported by local media to be suspected followers of a Malaysian Muslim figure claiming royal descent, were stopped by police guards in the confrontations early on Monday morning at the palace in Kuala Lumpur.

A police official called the claim by the group's leader "unbelievable and out of the ordinary".

"His claim doesn't make sense. (He) claimed to have a letter of appointment from the Philippines," Kuala Lumpur police official Ku Chin Wah told reporters.

Mr Ku refused to identify the detainees or their leader from the northern state of Kedah, pending investigations.