Malaysia ‘high’ terrorism threat: UK travel advisory

KUALA LUMPUR — The British government advised its citizens on Friday (July 15) that there is a “high” threat from terrorism in Malaysia, following the recent grenade attack at a Puchong nightclub linked to the Islamic State (IS).

The “high” status is the highest of four levels of terrorist threat used by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), defined as a “high level of known terrorist activity”.

“Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners,” said the FCO in its travel advice for Malaysia on Friday (July 15).

“On 28 June 2016, there was a grenade attack at a bar in the town of Puchong, injuring eight people. Malaysian authorities have confirmed this was a terrorist attack by individuals with links to Daesh (formerly referred to as ISIL),” it added.

According to the police, the grenade attack at the Movida bar at a Puchong mall was the first successful attack linked to the IS militant group.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar said earlier this month that 15 male terrorism suspects were arrested following the attack, including two policemen.

The FCO also advised British citizens against “all but essential” travel to islands off the Sabah east coast from Kudat to Tawau, citing a threat to foreigners of kidnapping.

“There has been an increase in kidnapping by groups operating in the southern Philippines, some of whom have the ability to conduct kidnaps on the coast of Sabah,” it said.

“You should take great care in the town of Sandakan and along the coastal area south to Tawau, and in and around Lahad Datu and Semporna. In May 2015, two Malaysian nationals were abducted in Sandakan, one of whom was subsequently murdered,” the advisory added.

The latest in a spate of abductions saw three Indonesian fishermen taken hostage by five armed men off the coast of Lahad Datu, Sabah, last Saturday night.

Abu Sayyaf militants from southern Philippines had first started its kidnapping spree targeting tourists, including Westerners and Chinese who often vacationed in the east coast islands of Sabah. When the government introduced the sea curfew from dusk to dawn, the kidnap-for-ransom groups shifted their focus, and more and more Malaysians and Indonesian fishermen became the target of their multi-million ringgit crimes. MALAY MAIL ONLINE