Civil servant among 3 nabbed in Malaysia over ISIS 'links'

KUALA LUMPUR - A woman and two men, including a civil servant, have been detained for alleged links to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group.

The suspects, aged between 22 and 39, were detained in separate operations in Johor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur conducted by Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division between Saturday and Monday.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement yesterday that one of the male suspects is a 39-year-old government department officer, "identified as a senior (ISIS) member".

"The second (male) suspect, a 22-year-old trader from Perak, is suspected of funding those who intend to head to Syria to join (ISIS)," he added.

The woman, a 29-year-old housewife from Johor, is believed to be responsible for influencing others to join ISIS.

He added that the authorities would not let Malaysia become a hotbed for terrorists.

Malaysia will be tabling a new anti-terrorism Act in Parliament this month that will include provisions to allow for detention without trial and the implementation of the Electronic Monitoring Device, which will be used to keep track of criminals, it was reported.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act will have features similar to the Prevention of Crime (Amendment and Extension) Act 2013, which allows suspected criminals to be detained without trial for up to two years, a source told the Malaysian Insider.

This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.