Suspicious car parked near Hadi's house - PAS

 

Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan raised further suspicions today surrounding an alleged raid-like Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) training exercise at Rusila mosque, Terengganu, last month.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, he cited a suspicious car parked near PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's home.

The PAS secretary-general also revealed another screenshot from a video said to be from a full CCTV recording of the incident, which he described as "showing highly suspicious appearances, behaviour, and movements”.

Takiyuddin, in urging police to investigate a report lodged by the Rusila mosque management, claimed the full CCTV recordings showed:

ADS

• Three men in civilian clothes entering the women’s prayer area near the restroom in a hurried and suspicious manner;

• A silver car with two men inside parked beside the gate of the Marang MP’s residence, next to the mosque’s front area, in a suspicious manner;

• Several vehicles and more than 10 men in civilian attire monitoring the mosque compound, acting suspiciously;

• Three men running out of the mosque in haste and immediately boarding a blue car that arrived at the time to leave the premises.

A phone recording of CCTV footage - allegedly from the mosque - was also circulating on social media as a counter-narrative to PAS' allegations.

The Rusila mosque is next door to Hadi's house, and he frequently delivers sermons and lectures at the mosque.

"All these 'disguise, infiltration, and extraction' type activities were carried out without any prior notice or request to the Rusila mosque management before the incident," said Takiyuddin, who cited the mosque committee chairperson Azri Abdul Aziz's statement today.

Aziz had reportedly denied that the mosque received prior notice about the activities, as MMEA alleged, in response to Takiyuddin's initial claim in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Further dispute

MMEA director-general Rosli Abdullah had clarified that the training conducted by the special task and rescue team did not involve the mosque.

ADS

Instead, he said trainees only went to the mosque to pray before continuing with their training.

It was unclear how far away the actual training was conducted from the mosque.

Takiyuddin further disputed MMEA's version of the event, claiming that a photograph circulated to the media, showing a group of men in white robes reading the Quran, bore no resemblance to the individuals, behaviour, or movements recorded on the mosque’s CCTV on the specified date and time.

"As confirmed by residents, there were no 'water training' exercises conducted in the sea or coastal area of Kampung Rusila, Marang, at the stated date and time," Takiyuddin said today.

He pointed out that questions persist on the nature of MMEA's training exercise, and urged Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to clarify the situation, which he claimed had sparked speculations concerning Hadi's safety, his family and the local community.

PAS is attempting to portray the MMEA activities as a threat to the party, similar to the 1985 Memali incident, in which a clash between authorities and followers of a PAS leader led to 18 deaths. - Mkini