New anti-terror force
The fight against terror groups such as the Islamic State will now be carried out using a tripartite force. The police, Armed Forces and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency are coming together as a rapid response unit to stem the threat.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is taking the fight to terror groups, especially the Islamic State network, with a specially formed tripartite force.
The National Special Operations Force (NSOF) will be a group selected from the police, Armed Forces and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
NSOF, under the purview of the National Security Council (NSC), will initially comprise 17 officers and 170 personnel.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who revealed this, said the force had trained for six months and would be first responder to any terror threat.
“They can be deployed at a moment’s notice. I am confident the force will be successful in safeguarding the country’s peace and security given the current threats,” the Prime Minister said before launching the NSOF at Kem Perdana Sungai Besi where it is based.
Also present were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali and Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
The role of the force was to remove any threats on land or water and to prepare contingency plans to face all forms of threats, it was announced.
Based on the National Blue Ocean Strategy of sharing assets and capabilities, NSOF would be under a single chain of command, Najib said.
He said that at the start, NSOF personnel would be seconded from the police, Armed Forces and MMEA.
Designated posts would be assigned once the unit was operational to prevent any disruption of the agencies involved, he said.
The Prime Minister said the formation of the unit was proof of the Government’s commitment to not compromise on the peace and security of the country.
“We have learnt from history, from battling insurgency to facing the threats of Al-Mauna and Kumpulan Militan Malaysia.
“Not a day goes by without a terror incident occurring in the world, so we must be prepared at all times,” he said, adding that the NSOF was “near operational”.
So far, 32 Malaysian militants have died fighting in Syria while 60 are still there, supporting the Islamic State.
Najib said that if a threat occurred, the NSC would prepare a report for the Inspector-General of Police and Armed Forces Chief who would then consult him.