Two radicalised Singaporeans detained under ISA

SINGAPORE — Two radicalised Singaporeans have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for their involvement in terrorism-related activities, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a statement on Friday (Feb 15).

The two men are Mohamed Kazali Salleh, a 48-year-old businessman based in Johor Baru, and Hazim Syahmi Mahfoot, a 28-year-old freelance car exporter.

HOW THEY BECAME RADICALISED

Kazali is a close associate of Syria-based Isis militant — Malaysian Wan Mohd Aquil Wan Zainal Abidin @ Akel Zainal, also known as Akel — whom he first met in 2009.

Akel is said to be the most senior Malaysian Isis fighter in Syria. Malaysian authorities believe he is responsible for two recent foiled plots to attack places of worship and police stations there.

Kazali, who was strongly influenced by Akel’s radical views, became convinced by him that Muslims are duty-bound to travel to Syria to fight against those who oppress them.

Kazali assisted Akel financially when the latter decided to go to Syria to fight in late 2013, as he believed it would “guarantee him a place in paradise” if Akel died a martyr there.

Urged by Akel, Kazali pledged his allegiance to Isis leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and shared news of Akel’s exploits on social media to inspire others to travel to Syria. Kazali was also prepared to help anyone who wanted to travel to Syria to join Akel.

Kazali himself agreed to join Akel in Syria, but did not act on it as he was not ready to leave his life in Malaysia behind, said the MHA.

He was also told by Akel to carry out an attack in Johor Baru in December 2018, but did not follow through on the plot as he was afraid of being caught by the authorities.

The second Singaporean, Hazim, first met Kazali in May 2018 through business dealings in Singapore. Hazim looked up to Kazali and became convinced that he should take up armed violence against non-Muslims.

Hazim also took a pledge of allegiance to remain “loyal and obedient” to Kazali, including potentially carrying out attacks and killing others.

ARRESTS A JOINT S’PORE-M’SIA EFFORT

Kazali was arrested in Malaysia by the Malaysian Special Branch in December 2018. He was then deported to Singapore before being handed over to the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Jan 7 and issued with an Order of Detention under the ISA.

Hazim was arrested in Singapore and issued with an Order of Detention in January 2019.

“These cases highlight the dangers of radicalisation of Singaporeans overseas and the potential impact within Singapore,” said the MHA in its press statement. “The threat of extremism is one which does not respect national borders.”