Secondly, the IGP’s misguided war against PR leaders and NGO activists when he should have declared war on Islamic State, which is misleading Malaysian Muslims to join them Iraq and Syria to commit atrocities like beheadings, public stonings and mass massacres.
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal in its opinion piece titled “Malaysia’s Creeping Authoritarianism” following more police crackdown marked by the arrest of two MPs, referred to 19 Islamic State supporters who had been arrested for plotting attacks around Kuala Lumpur last year.
Up to now, Malaysians have not been told the full story of the 19 Islamic State supporters who had been arrested for plotting attacks around Kuala Lumpur last year, but the twitter trigger-happy IGP seemed to be more pre-occupied with his “war” against PR leaders and NGO activists, who only wanted to expand the democratic space for Malaysians to qualify as a fully developed nation in 2020. than the serious war waged by Islamic State in Malaysia.
Early this month, the Police announced that “A civil servant said to be one of the most senior Islamic State (IS) members in Malaysia and a 29-year-old housewife who recruited a 14-year-old girl into the militant movement are among three people detained by Bukit Aman”.
The 39-year-old civil servant was arrested by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division in Kuala Lumpur while the housewife was picked up in Muar.
The third suspect – a 22-year-old trader – was also arrested in Perak around the same time.
The civil servant, described by the police as “a senior IS member with direct links to Malaysians in Syria”, is believed to have used his position to recruit members to ensure the local militant network ran smoothly.
This is most shocking news. How “senior” is the civil servant who was arrested, and who are the more “senior” IS leaders in Malaysia?
Malaysia are entitled to ask: Why is the Police fighting a losing war with Islamic State – has IS developed a local leadership structure in Malaysia with dedicated recruiters scouting for new recruits for the terrorist movement in Syria and Iraq?
It would appear that while the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was busy fighting imaginary enemies, combing the social media and tweetering instructions to police officers in his new Sedition Unit to harass and investigate Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGO activists, he was allowing the real enemies, the IS leaders and activists in Malaysia a field day to recruit potential terrorists for the IS atrocities in Syria and Iraq.
Do the Police know how many Malaysians have slipped through the police surveillance net to leave Malaysia to join IS in Syria and Iraq?
In July last year, the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi gave an assurance to Malaysians that the IS threat was under control.
He said the “militant groups” were trying to band together as a single “terror coalition” but they will not succeed in Malaysia as the authorities will not allow these groups to gain a foothold in Malaysia.
In August last year, the Police said that between January and June of the year, they arrested 19 people including two women for involvement in militant activities and that at least 50 Malaysians were believed to be in Syria, fighting alongside the IS terrorists.
However, by end of January this year, support for IS terrorists have further increased, with a total of 120 people who supported IS detained in prisons in Tapah and Bentong who have to be detained in special cells to stop them from spreading their ideology and train the others to become terrorists. The authorities believed that 67 Malaysians have joined the IS cause in Syria and Iraq.
Last month, Zahid intimated that the IS was so organised in Malaysia it could plot the kidnap of wealthy tycoons and to stage bank robberies to raise funds and early this month, the latest revelation that the IS has advanced to new stage of structure and organisation in Malaysia with the arrest of a civil servant who is a “senior IS member”.
These are all the marks of a failed police operation to check IS from spreading its terrorist tentacles in Malaysia.
What is most galling to Malaysians is that such dismal police failures in national security is taking place when the IGP is on a frolic playing with his tweets to harass PR leaders and NGO activists in exercise of their peaceful, lawful and democratic rights to freedom of assembly and expression – giving a field day to potential terrorists who would have no qualms participating in atrocities like beheadings, crucifixions, public stonings and mass massacres.
The IGP must be more professional and stop his frolics with tweets and harassment of PR leaders, NGO activists and even cartoonists like Zunar and focus on the security threat posed by the IS in Malaysia.
It is deplorable that Zahid has taken the attitude that MPs should not only accept but support the proposed Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota), “unless they want to see terrorist acts happening here”.
Zahid has no right to demand a blank cheque in the fight against IS and he should not doubt the patriotism of any MP or Malaysian who may disagree with the proposed Pota as the most effective way to fight the threat of IS terrorism.
It is most deplorable that although Parliament has met for two weeks, MPs and the Malaysian public have not been given copies of the proposed Pota and the new bill on Foreign Fighters.
The Home Minister can take BN MPs for granted, but he should not expect PR MPs to blindly support his POTA and Foreign Fighters Bill, without a full briefing on the Islamic State threat as well as assurances that these legislative proposals can be effective in fighting the threat from Islamic State and other terrorist organizations.
What Parliament should do ay is to set up a Parliamentary Select Committee on Terrorism, which should not only oversee police efforts to fight terrorism, but should also discuss in depth the proposed Pota and Foreign Fighters Bills and present its report and recommendations before these two Bills are debated in Parliament.
(Part II of Speech on the motion of thanks for Royal Address in Parliament on Thursday, 19th March 2015)