LANGKAWI: The detentions of 12 individuals, including two state assemblymen, to help in investigations over links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group were done in accordance with provisions under the existing law, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The prime minister said the police action was also done without the interference of his administration, refuting claims that the arrests were made to weaken certain quarters.
‘’The government wants to know why this matter is happening. We don’t like to use power to weaken any quarter.
‘’It is not me who nabbed these people, not Muhyiddin Yassin, )(home minister) who nabbed them. It is the police who did so and their arrests were following the law,’’ he told a media conference after attending a briefing on the development of Langkawi here today.
Mahathir also explained that he would determine if the arrests could affect Pakatan Harapan, which would be facing the by-election in Tanjung Piai soon.
“We have to find out if there are political implications, what are their backgrounds (of those detained),’’ he added.
Police today detained five more individuals, including a teacher, on suspicion of being involved in promoting, supporting, possessing materials and channelling funds linked to LTTE.
The latest arrests brought the total number of detentions linked to LTTE since Thursday to 12.
On Thursday, seven individuals including two state assemblymen were detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) after they were suspected of being involved with the terrorist group, LTTE.
India’s intention to ban palm oil imports
In another development, Mahathir said the government had no plan to give an immediate response to the report claiming that India planned to ban palm oil imports from Malaysia.
The prime minister said, for now, Malaysia just needed to wait and see what action would be taken by India.
“We will study the impact of the action taken by India. They are exporting goods to Malaysia, too.
“It’s not just one-way trade; it’s two-way trade,” he said.
Mahathir said Malaysia and India must avoid making the issue a cause for a trade war which would only spell losses to both countries.
He said this when asked to comment on a news report by an international news agency that India was considering restricting imports of some products from Malaysia, including palm oil, in reaction to his criticism of New Delhi for its action in Kashmir.
Mahathir, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, had touched on the protracted Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state, Myanmar and the Palestinian crisis in Gaza before saying that Jammu and Kashmir had been “invaded and occupied” and the conflict continued despite the UN resolution for both countries (India and Pakistan) to resolve it by peaceful means.
India is the second-largest buyer of Malaysia’s palm oil, importing 150,000 tonnes monthly. - FMT
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