Two alleged terrorists arrested in Malaysia, says home minister
The two were among 624 people arrested under a security law in 2022.
KUALA LUMPUR: Two people were arrested for terrorism in Malaysia last year, said Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, according to news reports.
Speaking at a Malaysian Parliament sitting today, Saifuddin said the two were among 624 people arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) last year.
Saifuddin revealed that 195 suspected offenders are currently on trial, with 147 charged under criminal conspiracy, 47 for human trafficking, and the two for terrorism.
“For the year 2022, the Royal Malaysian Police have arrested a total of 624 people under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma). Of these, 71 arrested have been charged in court, 401 have been sentenced, 140 have been released and 12 are still under investigation,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying.
“The ethnic breakdown is as follows: 247 Malays, 83 Chinese, 89 Indians, 47 other races and 158 foreign nationals, all aged between 18 to 69 years old.”
The minister did not elaborate on the two terrorism cases.
The last statistics released by former Inspector-General of Police Fuzi Harun a few years ago showed most terror arrests occurred in the Borneo state of Sabah, mostly involving Filipinos linked to the Abu Sayyaf Group and pro-ISIS Maute Group of the southern Philippines, as well as the so-called Royal Sulu Force.
Terror arrests elsewhere in Malaysia involved supporters of ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, Ansar-al Sharia al-Tunisia, Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and also the Abu Sayyaf.
Saifuddin revealed the numbers while responding to questions on Sosma posed by opposition and ruling-coalition Members of Parliament.
Apart from Sosma, the minister also revealed that 132 people were arrested under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959.
The current government was previously reported as saying they were willing to sit down with various stakeholders to review laws that have the potential to be abused for political purposes such as in 2016 when Sosma was used to arrest 15 prominent civil rights activists.
Sosma was enacted under a constitutional provision that provides broad powers against subversion, threats to public order, acts of terrorism, sabotage and espionage.
It was first proposed in 2012 as a replacement for the now-abolished Internal Security Act, which allowed for detention without trial. Sosma was implemented in June 2012 by the Najib Razak government.