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Arrested M’sian man planned KL bomb attack

KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian man was detained just hours before planning to blow himself up at an entertainment venue in Kuala Lumpur, a government official said today (Jan 17), after authorities raised the alert level following bombings in neighbouring Indonesia.

The suspected bomber (centre) confessed to planning to blow himself up in an attack after receiving orders from IS members. Photo: Royal Malaysia Police

The suspected bomber (centre) confessed to planning to blow himself up in an attack after receiving orders from IS members. Photo: Royal Malaysia Police

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KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian man was detained just hours before planning to blow himself up at an entertainment venue in Kuala Lumpur, a government official said today (Jan 17), after authorities raised the alert level following bombings in neighbouring Indonesia. 

A government official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to release information, said today the detainee, a 28-year-old man, is an insurance salesman from Terengganu state.

The official told The Associated Press he was detained just hours before his planned suicide attack at an entertainment outlet, either a karaoke bar or a pub.

The man, arrested last Friday at a train station in Kuala Lumpur, had confessed to planning a suicide attack in the country, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar announced a day after the arrest. The train station is located near the iconic Petronas Towers in the heart of the capital Kuala Lumpur and houses a huge shopping mall frequented by foreigners.

Mr Khalid said the man confessed to planning to blow himself up in an attack after receiving orders from members of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria. “The suspect is also responsible for hanging IS flags at several locations in the states of Terengganu, Perak, Selangor and Johor, in order to warn the government to stop arresting IS members in Malaysia,” the police chief said in the statement yesterday.

Malaysian counter-terrorism assistant director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay later told AFP that a knife and IS documents were confiscated at the suspect’s house.

Malaysian police have raised the security alert to the highest level following the deadly attacks in Jakarta last Thursday. Security has been increased at public places such as shopping malls and tourist spots, with extra precautions taken at border areas to prevent any infiltration by militants, Mr Khalid said. 

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has stated that the armed forces are prepared to deploy their assets to specific locations in the country to monitor attack threats by IS.

Last Friday’s arrest has transformed the nebulous threat of terrorism in Malaysia into a real and tangible menace, according to local security expert, Mr Ahmad Muhammady, an International Islamic University (UIM) professor who works with Malaysian police on terror suspect rehabilitation. “It’s a game changer for police,” the professor warned. “The threat is actual, no longer potential, because it crossed the line from planning to executing.”

Up until the latest arrests, suspected IS militants who have been arrested in Malaysia were either picked up during the planning of attacks or for links to the terrorist organisation.

In yet another sign of how Malaysia is on edge over potential terrorist attacks, police today deployed a bomb squad to a mall in the Bukit Bintang area, after two backpacks — left attended by South Korean tourists — sparked a minor bomb scare.

The incident came hours after Malaysian Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor warned that militant groups were targeting popular tourist destinations and shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur.

“Among the places that they are targeting include the Kuala Lumpur city centre, Bukit Bintang, Publika, Solaris, Hartamas, Bangsar and The Curve,” the secretary-general of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was quoted as saying by Malaysian media today. 

He added that the motive of terrorists was to destabilise the country, similar to the recent attacks in Jakarta. This was later contradicted by the police, who said that there has been no specific location being identified for a terrorist attack.

“We are not sure where Datuk Seri Adnan got his information from but as far as we’re concerned, the security at all public places have been intensified and we are doing all we can to monitor suspicious activities and maintaining public order,” said Kuala Lumpur police chief Tajuddin Md Isa today.

In a separate statement today, the police communications chief, Asmawati Ahmad stressed that the police had never named specific locations that were targeted for attack.

“People are advised not to believe in such rumours and should stop spreading news that can cause unrest, especially statements that do not come from the police force,” she said. AGENCIES

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