Situation still under control, says counter-terrorism chief

PETALING JAYA: Bukit Aman’s counter-terrorism chief says the situation is still under control despite news yesterday that three people recently arrested by the police had been planning to target locations and events such as the Better Beer Festival.

Channel NewsAsia quoted Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division assistant director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay as saying there was no need for people to avoid bars and clubs.

He said entertainment outlets and discos had been in Malaysia since the country’s independence with no problems.

“Of course, terrorists are always planning to attack entertainment outlets, but so far we have always managed to disrupt them… so far it’s still under control.

“Let the police tackle the security issues,” he was reported as saying.

Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun announced that a 19-year-old youth and two others arrested in Kelantan last week had been planning to target, among others, the beer festival which was axed by authorities last month.

Fuzi said the three terror suspects had made improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with blast areas of about 30 metres and tested them for use against their intended targets.

The youth, a Form Six student from Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, was said to be the mastermind of the plot. The other suspects were a retired soldier, aged 34, from Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, who worked as a construction labourer, and a 25-year-old building contractor from Pengkalan Hulu, Perak.

Ayob added that those planning such attacks were targeting Muslims as well as non-Muslims, especially those who were seen as not practising an Islamic way of life approved of by “Salafi jihadists”.

“They want to create conflict between Muslim and non-Muslims.

“By attacking a non-Muslim place of worship and a Muslim place of worship, they will create tension… they can take advantage of that,” he was quoted as saying.

On Oct 7, police announced that they had arrested eight individuals for suspected involvement with terrorist groups in an operation conducted between Sept 27 and Oct 6.

These included four Malaysians, including a convict arrested in Tapah for allegedly recruiting people in prison to launch attacks on places of worship in the country.

According to Fuzi, police have successfully foiled nine cases of attempts to explode IEDs since 2013.

Some 78 people with connections to the Islamic State have also been arrested since last January. -FMT