‘I.S. sees Malaysia as recruitment ground’

KUALA LUMPUR: The rise of Islamic State (IS) in Malaysia is evident with the arrests of three people in Kelantan, including a 19-year-old Form Six student.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said Malaysia was an ideal ground for IS to lure people, to radicalise them and launch attacks, as the country was peaceful and had a large Muslim population.

Nur Jazlan said terrorists were looking to bolster their standing should they carry out an attack in Malaysia.

The trio were nabbed by Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division operatives at a restaurant in Pasir Putih last Tuesday.

They were believed to be linked to IS and were planning attacks on several targets in the Klang Valley, including a beer festival in Kuala Lumpur, which was later cancelled.

“If any militant attacks were to happen here, groups like IS would view them as a success at having created chaos and in penetrating our defences,” he said after chairing a meeting with state Malaysian Drug Prevention Association and National AntiDrugs Agency officials on Tuesday.

The arrest of the trio showed the police were on top of things, Nur Jazlan said.

He said the police had been doing a great job at foiling terror attacks in the past, such as the IS-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group’s plan to attack the closing ceremony of the Sea Games in August.

“Many terrorists see Malaysia as a place for them to recruit new members and to garner support from the huge Muslim population here,” he said, assuring that the police were monitoring the activities of IS cell members, including how militants obtained their weapons.

The authorities were learning from past experiences in detaining Malaysians with links to militant groups, he said.