KUALA LUMPUR: The police have made several efforts to influence Malaysians involved in militant activities or the Islamic State (IS) to return although this is not in the hands of the authorities.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the force had always put in efforts to help those in Syria or Iraq to abandon their beliefs or ideology.
“But this is an ideology problem. If they still believe in the wrong beliefs, how can we bring them back?” he said after attending the Asean Chief of Police (Aseanapol) ceremony here yesterday.
Khalid was responding to questions if police had taken measures to bring back Malaysian children reportedly being groomed to become fighters in the terror group.
“So, what we are doing now is to prevent those who have plans to go there (Iraq and Syria),” he said.
It was reported that intelligence had revealed at least eight Malaysian children were currently in IS camps in Syria and Iraq.
On the arrest of three policemen in the kidnap-for-ransom case of a Filipino woman in Lahad Datu, Khalid gave the assurance that no one would be spared from the law.
“No one will be protected,” Khalid said, admitting that the incident could affect the image of the police.
“We have a large number of personnel so there will be some rotten apples. It is the responsibility of the Integrity Department to weed them out,” he said.
In a separate function, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed that two suicide bombers involved in the attacks in Syria and Iraq, which claimed the lives of more than 30 people, were Malaysians.
He said the matter had been announced by the Prime Minister at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.
“Before this, there was information that a Malaysian was involved, so now there are three,” he said.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
