Malaysia will raise Asean’s anti-terrorism initiatives in Riyadh

KLUANG: Malaysia will raise Asean’s antiterrorism initiatives at the inaugural meeting of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Council (IMCTC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia today.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Asean’s cooperation in curbing militants such as Daesh include maritime patrol and air surveillance by Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

“What happened in Marawi City, the Philippines, must be told. For the first time, we saw Daesh flags hoisted in Asean region,” he told reporters after launching an entrepreneurship bootcamp yesterday.

Several matters discussed with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, will be raised at the meeting to show Asean’s cooperation in curbing terrorism.

Hishammuddin said other countries in the region need to know what is happening in Asean so that they can provide support to curb terrorism and share experiences in dealing with extremism.

On the terrorist attack on a mosque in Egypt which killed at least 235 worshippers yesterday, he said that no country is excluded from being a target by Daesh and that they should take proactive measures to curb the terrorist threat.

The deadly terrorist attack was launched while Muslims were performing Friday prayers at noon in a mosque in northern Sinai. - Bernama