Central police headquarters Bukit Aman are reporting today that they arrested six men and one woman last month in terror-related raids across the country.
Five Malaysians, and two Filipinos, were arrested in Kelantan, Sabah, Selangor and Kedah in operations led by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division. Among them include an oil and gas engineer, a honey seller, and a day laborer. Three of those arrested in Sabah, Borneo had reported links with the terrorist organization, Abu Sayyaf.
Breaking down the series of arrests, police explained that the individuals lived across four states, Kelantan, Sabah, Selangor and Kedah, and appear to not have direct links with each other. Operations were carried out between November 19 and November 28. In a media statement this morning, Bukit Aman clarified that they were “actively taking action against suspected terror elements.”
In a statement released via his Facebook page, the inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun clarified that the first arrest occurred on November 19 in the conservative northeastern state of Kelantan, where a local honey seller is alleged to have received instructions from Islamic State Akel Zainal, who is based in Syria, to launch attacks on Malaysian soil.
Police have long believed that Akel Zainal is the main Malaysia recruiting force for the war in the Middle East.
One day later, an engineer in Kajang was taken in by police after he sent money to the now-deceased Malaysian IS fighter Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi between 2016 and 2017 totaling RM14,000 (US$3,356).
After Muhammad Wanndy’s 2017 death, Akel Zainal took over. Money sent to the men was “meant to fund terror operations.”
On November 21, a Filipino was arrested in Sabah, with police alleging that he was a member of Abu Sayyaf, and involved in no less than three kidnappings in the region.
That same day, a driving school employee in Kedah was arrested after receiving orders from IS militants to commence attacking non-Muslims and their places of worship. One day later in the same northern state, a driver was taken in after police believe he transferred money to Jamaah Ansharut Dauliah, a terror group in Indonesia.
Finally, a Sabah couple were taken in by police on November 28, who police believe have ties to Abu Sayyaf. The man, a Filipino day laborer, and his Malaysian wife, are accused of having knowledge of Abu Sayyaf operatives in the state.
All arrests were many under the contentious Security Offences Special Measures Act 2012 (SOSMA).
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