KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 – Malaysia has arrested four Malaysians and one Indonesian for suspected terrorist activities, with just days to go before the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The suspects are aged between 22 and 40, which have links with the Islamic State militant group, and another regional terror network known as Iman Mah-di.
The arrests come as authorities beef up security at the ASEAN Summit ahead of the arrival of world leaders, including US President Barack Obama and heads of government from China, Japan, Korea and Russia. The terrorist attacks in Paris came just a week before the opening of the 27th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, and they have put authorities on even higher alert.
The government said it will increase security for the upcoming summit, including stepping up checks at all entry points. It has vowed to use every means at its disposal to prevent a terror attack from happening in the country. Speaking in Parliament two days after the attack, Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan gave the assurance that the police counter-terrorism and special intelligence units are constantly monitoring communications in cyberspace among militant suspects.
“After what happened to Charlie Hebdo in January, nobody should be really surprised by what happened in Paris. You (can) see how difficult it is for authorities to monitor and stop this new type of terrorists; they just operate in small groups of five to 10 people but they can create maximum havoc,” he said.
Malaysia has arrested more than 150 terror suspects, including 24 women, since 2013. It has also successfully stopped many from leaving the country to join Islamic State in the Middle East. But now, Kuala Lumpur and its leaders too have become targets of attacks, according to police intelligence.
This follows an apparent shift in IS’ strategy, to fight its enemies on two fronts – in Syria and Iraq, and against other countries that oppose it. Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said “We’ve made a very strong stand against them. We have brought all 10 ASEAN countries united against them. We are the moderate phase of Islam which does not represent what they stand for.”
In October, at a session of the United Nations’ General Assembly, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak promised to accept up to 3,000 Syrian refugees over three years. Malaysia said it will not turn its back on this promise, although early investigations into the Paris attacks suggest a suicide bomber might have entered Europe among refugees from Syria.
Mr Nur said: “Let’s not paint all Syrian refugees in the same light. We assume they are not terrorists but we have to filter their background, to make sure they don’t pose a threat to the country if we decide to take them in.” In the meantime, Kuala Lumpur will be screening all refugees thoroughly before accepting them into society.
