KUALA LUMPUR: Intelligence operations and arrests by the authorities have thwarted attempts to spread the Daesh ideology, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said investigations found that this group identified dignitaries and police as the main target of potential attacks because the former’s ideology and beliefs were not aligned with the government’s.
“Their priority targets are the police force as part of efforts to overthrow a government.
“But in reality, we managed to detect and thwart this movement (ideology). In the process of intelligence gathering and preliminary investigations, we established that their motive was to target several prominent individuals and senior police officers,” he said at a press conference here today.
He was speaking after closing the 40th General Meeting of the Association of Retired Senior Police Officers (RESPA) at the Police College here today.
Also present was Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
He said their ideological confidence led to them being classified as a threat to public order and national security and that they must be opposed.
Yesterday, Saifuddin said eight individuals were arrested by police for suspected involvement in extremism and radicalism linked to Daesh in simultaneous operations in Kelantan, Johor, Penang and Selangor on June 22 and 23.
The suspects, comprising six men and two women aged between 25 and 70, have been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA).
