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Tag: Malaysia

  • Troubling Trend Of Civil Servants Supporting IS’ Cause In Malaysia

    Troubling Trend Of Civil Servants Supporting IS’ Cause In Malaysia

    PETALING JAYA, Dec 3 — Two more civil servants who were channeling funds to the Islamic State (IS) have been arrested as police express worry over militant sympathisers in the civil service.

    Police are working to establish the extent of IS influence among civil servants as so far six government officers had joined, planned or had sent money to the extremist outfit which controls chunks of territories in both Iraq and Syria.

    A police source said in six months, four civil servants were arrested in the Klang Valley and Kedah, and there is a possibility of others in the service being involved.

    “We are now investigating the extent of involvement of civil servants in IS activities in the country and abroad,” the source said.

    “There is a possibility those detained had influenced others, including their colleagues, to join their cause and this is a worrying trend.”

    Investigators are establishing if these suspects had recruited others from their departments.

    The source said intelligence and operations personnel are working to determine the seriousness of the matter.

    The latest arrest came when the Bukit Aman’s Counter-Terrorism Unit conducted an operation in Kuala Lumpur and Kedah on Nov 27 and 28.

    Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police picked up three men in separate locations.

    “Two of them, aged 23 and 28, work at a government agency in Kuala Lumpur. They are suspected to have channeled funds to new recruits who are planning to travel to Syria to fight alongside IS.”

    Investigations revealed the third suspect, aged 36, joined IS last year and had spent four months in Syria before returning to Malaysia on April 8.

    He said the trio were being detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma).

    In October, police made a major breakthrough following the arrest of three men who played a key role in the recruitment of more than 20 Malaysians.

    One of the recruiters was an assistant director attached to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

    The 37-year-old civil servant was responsible for recruiting and making travel arrangements for those wanting to go to Syria. He was also the contact person for Malaysian fighters in Syria.

    The other recruiter fought alongside rebels in Syria last December and returned to Malaysia in April while the third was an expert in recruiting people via Facebook.

    The three recruiters are believed to have been trained by Dr Mahmud Ahmad, 36, an Islamic studies lecturer with Universiti Malaya.

    The trio’s arrest led to the arrest of 11 other supporters from various backgrounds — a 14-year-old student, a housewife, a graphic designer, a university student, factory workers and odd-job workers.

    Police had then expressed shock that the suspects came from all walks of life, suggesting that the recruitment drive was intense. Police said the recruiters would scout for targets via Facebook and brainwash them to fight coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

    Once coaxed, the recruits would meet a 34-year-old suspect who fought in Syria.

    The trio also had connections with 36-year-old stationery shop operator Mohd Najib Hussein and Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, 39, who was attached to the Selayang Municipal Council.

    Mahmud, Najib and Joraimee were previously IS recruiters but later fled the country and joined Abu Sayyaf in Southern Philippines.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Two Civil Servants Among Three Arrested In Malaysia For Suspected Links to IS

    Two Civil Servants Among Three Arrested In Malaysia For Suspected Links to IS

    KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police said today (Dec 2) that they have detained three men, including two civil servants, suspected of being linked to the militant Islamic State group.

    The detentions bring the number of people held for suspected militant links to 43 this year.

    National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the three were detained Nov 27 and 28 in operations in Kuala Lumpur and in northern Kedah state.

    Mr Khalid said in a statement that a 36-year-old suspect had joined militant groups in Syria since Dec 28 last year and returned to Malaysia on April 8.

    Another two, both civil servants in their 20s, were believed to have been channelling funds to several Malaysians who want to go to Syria to join the Islamic State terror group, he said.

    The spread of the Islamic state ideology has worried Prime Minister Najib Razak, who recently warned that it can cause chaos and conflict in the country. He said the government would introduce a new anti-terrorism law next year to combat the security threat.

    No details have been given on the new law, but officials said it may include preventive measures such as detention without trial. Critics have urged the government not to revive the Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention without trial. It was abolished in 2012 as part of political reforms.

    The government said they have identified 39 Malaysians fighting in Syria and Iraq, including five who had died. AP

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Ringgit Slumps To 10-Month Low Against Sing Dollar

    Ringgit Slumps To 10-Month Low Against Sing Dollar

    The ringgit slumped to a 10-month low against the Singdollar today (Dec 1), prompting many to rush to money-changers to snap up the Malaysian currency.

    The ringgit’s sudden steep decline came amid fears that tumbling global oil prices will hit oil-exporter Malaysia.
    As of 5pm today, S$1 could buy RM2.63 — a 2.3 per cent slide from last week’s rate of RM2.57. The last time the ringgit fell to a similar level was on Feb 13 this year, when the ringgit closed at 2.627 against the Singdollar.

    Mr Mohamed Rafeeq, the Money Changers Association of Singapore’s secretary, said many money-changers at Raffles Place were shocked at the falling value of the ringgit today.

    “We thought there was some mistake, then more and more people started coming to change money. But after seeing that we could only sell our current stock at the previous rate which was 2.57, (the customers) went away and said they would wait until we had new stock which we could sell at a lower price,” he told TODAY over the phone.

    He said he was not worried as he expected the ringgit to remain low for at least another week.

    Two other money-changers reported brisk business today, although they did not say what rate they offered for the ringgit.

    Mr Siraydin, of Sirajudin Money Changer, saw almost double the number of daily customers at his shop in People’s Park Complex.

    “Normally, (we get) about 30 people, today more people came to change to ringgit — about 50-plus,” he told TODAY.

    Mr Mohamed Rafi, who owns M.M. Shariff Traders, said his shop in The Arcade — a popular money-changing hub in Raffles Place — saw a 50 per cent jump in the number of customers buying the ringgit.

    Malaysian Chew Zhi Loon, 27, who works as an actuarial executive in Singapore, said he plans to take advantage of the falling ringgit to remit more money home. Mr Chew, who sends money to his parents once every few months, added that he had never remitted money at such a low rate.

    Singaporean Rosnah Hussin, 30, who travels to Johor Bahru up to twice a week plans to “stock up” on ringgit.

    “I go to JB to buy groceries, pump petrol and even wash my car because it is cheaper there,” said the student relations officer.

    The ringgit also fell hard, at 2.5 per cent, against the American dollar — its biggest two-day slide since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

    Analysts have said that Malaysia, whose oil-related industries account for a third of the country’s revenue, is likely to be the Asian country which will be hit hardest by the sudden steep decline in oil prices.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Visit By The Pope To Turkey Puts UMNO To Shame

    Visit By The Pope To Turkey Puts UMNO To Shame

    KUCHING: The just-concluded Umno General Assembly was marked by racist slurs, religious intolerance and bigotry, observed Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, while Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the civilised world are reaching out to each other in peace and tolerance.

    Anwar pointed out that Pope Francis, currently on a visit to Turkey, had been invited by Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran of Turkey to pray at the famous Blue Mosque which was once a Cathedral when the country was part of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire.

    “The gesture by the Grand Mufti is unthinkable in Malaysia under Umno,” said Anwar who was on a visit to Kuching. “Umno leaders are taking backward steps in their relations with non-Muslims.”

    Anwar noted that the media had described the Pope’s visit to Turkey as demonstrating “a powerful vision of Christian-Muslim understanding at a time when neighbouring countries are experiencing violent Islamic assaults on Christians and religious minorities”.

    “There is a need to appreciate this move. It has relevance in terms of our attitude and the Umno General Assembly’s on relations with non-Muslims in this country,” Anwar said. “Pope Francis’ visit is a gesture that would go a long way towards blazing a trail for a new chapter on Christian-Muslim relations and mending the strained relations of the past.”

    “Once we get past theological polemics, which more often than not puts a strain on inter-religious relations, the matters that bind these two great faiths could be reason enough for cultivating tolerance and respect.”

    Pope Francis was radical, pointed out Anwar, as he preferred to relate rather than pontificate.

    “That has made all the difference. He goes to Turkey not to preach but to reach out, very much in the tradition of Christ, with humility and peace to the Muslim world,” said Anwar.

    Pope Francis’ genuine desire for understanding must be received warmly and reciprocated by leaders of the Muslim world, he added, but ruled out Umno taking a positive attitude on the Pope’s visit to Turkey.

     

    Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

  • Malaysia Will Not Allow Chin Peng’s Ashes To Be Brought Back To Malaysia

    Malaysia Will Not Allow Chin Peng’s Ashes To Be Brought Back To Malaysia

    MALACCA – The Malaysia government will not allow the ashes of Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) leader Chin Peng to be brought back to Malaysia, said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Sunday.

    “We will not allow his ashes to be brought back as we are sensitive to the feelings of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the soldiers, policemen and others whose family members were killed or maimed by the brutal CPM insurgents,” Datuk Seri Zahid said at a news conference after launching an event at the Malacca Motorcycle Carnival, The Star reported.

    Chin Peng, whose real name is Ong Boon Hua, led the armed struggle of the Communist Party of Malaya against the colonial British authorities and then the Malayan government after 1957.

    The hostilities ended only in 1989 with a Thailand-brokered peace accord.

    Chin Peng died of cancer in September last year at the age of 88. He had been living in exile in Thailand after the 1989 peace accord, and his attempts to return to his birthplace in Perak had been stymied by the Malaysian courts on the basis that he did not have citizenship papers.

    Malaysian Premier Najib Razak has called him a “terrorist leader” and said that his ashes would not be allowed into the country.

    But a non-governmental organisation, 21st Century Malaysia Friendship Association, recently called for the Malaysian government to respect the Hatyai Peace Accord which allowed Chin Peng’s ashes to be brought back to the country, The Star said.

    The Malaysian Chinese Association, a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, had pointed out that the remains of ethnic Malay terrorists like Noordin Mohammad Top were allowed to be buried in their Malaysia hometowns.

    On Sunday Dr Zahid also defended the government’s move to strengthen the 1948 Sedition Act, reported the Star.

    The Act will be amended to include sedition through the Internet, touching on religious sensitivities, and calling for Sabah and Sarawak to leave Malaysia. Dr Zahid was cited as saying the move was necessary to preserve unity and harmony in Malaysia’s multiracial society.

    “The Sedition Act was introduced in 1948 where there was no Internet at the time. Therefore, this Act needs to be amended,” said Dr Zahid. He added that a Bill to amend the Sedition Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament in March next year.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com