PUTRAJAYA: Eight people were arrested over the weekend by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) for alleged links to the Islamic State militant group.
Simultaneous operations were carried out across four states on Saturday and Sunday. A former lecturer was among those arrested for suspected links to extremist and radical ideologies.
Malaysia’s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Monday (Jun 24) that the six men and two women, aged between 25 and 70, were detained in Kelantan, Johor, Penang and Selangor.
Initial police investigations into the suspects revealed threats against Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, dignitaries and senior PDRM officials, he said at a press conference.
The eight suspects come from various occupational and economic backgrounds, including housewives and educated professionals.
The suspects will be held for 28 days under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, he added.
When asked if they were part of a network, Mr Saifuddin said they shared the same ideology.
“It’s one ideology, one belief stemming from the conviction that the country’s leadership is not based on the caliphate system, for example,” he said.
“When such conditions are not met, they justify actions to challenge the government; that’s among the signs of their group’s beliefs.”
Mr Saifuddin also said that the Malaysian government remains firm that there will be “no compromise with anyone inciting, perpetrating, supporting or sympathising with extremism, radicalism and violence in this country”.
