‘They shunned everyone’

Guest of honour: Saifuddin Nasution (left) being greeted at the KDN monthly gathering in Putrajaya yesterday. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star

PUTRAJAYA: The family of the Ulu Tiram police station attacker had led a reclusive life due to their warped belief that the surrounding community was made up of infidels.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the family kept to themselves and eschewed interaction with others, as they believed that they alone were true Muslims while branding others as infidels.

“They neither went to school nor prayed at a mosque as they viewed these as establishments of the government, which they consider as the work of infidels.

“Such convictions can pose a grave threat to both the nation and its populace. Muslims cannot do this to each other.

“This is why I have said that our focus should not only be on the perpetrator but also the purveyor. It is important that we interview the surrounding community to ascertain who the dead suspect was,” he told a press conference after the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly at its headquarters here.

Saifuddin Nasution said investigations into the case were ongoing, with the police still “fine-tuning” the inquiry before determining the next course of action.

The 21-year-old attacker was shot dead after he killed two policemen and injured another in the attack last Friday.

Five of his family members, aged between 19 and 62, were arrested after police records revealed that his father had been involved with the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah in the past.

They remain in police custody for further investigations.

Saifuddin Nasution also addressed speculations regarding three other cases that occurred soon after the Ulu Tiram incident.

He said the cases of two men attempting to trespass into Istana Negara, a man who tried to snatch a submachine gun from a policeman in Penang, and a death threat received by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, were all unrelated to the Ulu Tiram case.

“In the case of the police station in Dato Keramat (Penang), the suspect had come to the station drunk before it led to an argument and the man trying to snatch the firearm. The suspect has been charged in court for the offence.

“In the Istana Negara case, the suspect claimed that he attempted to enter the palace after he had a dream in which he was ordered to meet the King,” he said.