KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysian police have arrested three terror suspects, Malaysia’s police chief Abdul Hamid Bador said.
The suspects – a Malaysian man and two foreigners aged between 28 and 42 – were arrested during an operation conducted by the Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division from May 24 to May 30, Abdul Hamid said in a statement.
The first arrested suspect is a 42-year-old Malaysian contractor who was seized at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on May 17. He was leaving for Egypt with plans to ultimately head to Syria.
He had pledged his allegiance twice to Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi via Facebook.
“The suspect is also a staunch believer of the Salafi Jihadi ideology which rejects the parliamentary democracy system and does not recognise the Malaysian government … any Muslim involved in election is labelled as infidel and can be killed,” Abdul Hamid said.
One of the foreigners to be arrested was a 20-year-old Indonesian man who worked as a labourer in Keningau, Sabah.
He is suspected of facilitating terrorist groups from Indonesia that were travelling to the southern Philippines to carry out suicide missions by way of Sabah.
“The suspect also channeled funds to Maute terrorist groups in southern Philippines and he also planned to fight in Syria,” said Abdul Hamid.
The last arrest was of a 28-year-old Bangladeshi who was captured on Thursday. The ship engine assistant possessed the necessary chemicals and expertise to produce improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Another Indonesian suspect is still at large. Identified only as Marwan, he also served as a facilitator for Daesh members’ travels.
“The suspect is in his 30s and his last known address is at Kampung Keritan Laut in Keningau,” Abdul Hamid said. — NNN-BERNAMA