KL calls for world summit to crush militancy, terror
KL calls for world summit to crush militancy, terror
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Calling for a summit of world leaders to tackle terrorism, the Malaysian government said on Friday that actions such as its recent crackdown on suspected Islamic militants are necessary to prevent tragedies like the attacks in the United States.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that the attacks in Washington and New York were a "lesson" that governments should take firm steps to combat extremist movements that could destroy lives and jeopardize peace.
"Malaysia on its part has taken very, very strong action against all those involved in militant activities," Syed Hamid told reporters. "We have taken preventive measures, as we cannot afford to wait and see what has happened in the World Trade Center" happen here.
Last month, Malaysian police detained without trial at least 10 alleged Islamic extremists accused of being involved in a campaign of waging robberies and murders to overthrow Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government and install a hardline Islamic state.
Some of the detainees were also members of the fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, the country's largest opposition group, which says the accusations are baseless and an attempt to discredit the party.
The government claims that Malaysia's extremists have links with like-minded groups in neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines. A Malaysian bomber blew off his leg in Jakarta last month during an attack on a shopping mall.
On Friday, Mahathir, Asia's longest-serving ruler, proposed that world leaders hold a conference to discuss international terrorism. He added, however, that countries should avoid taking sides to tackle the problem.
"Islamic countries should not take sides with fellow Islamic countries, while non-Islamic countries should not take sides with non-Islamic countries," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama. Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country.
Mahathir, who has led Malaysia since 1981, warned that violent methods were not the proper way to resolve the issue, but that a solution must be found to deal with the root of terrorism.
"We need to look at terrorism as a crime that has to be addressed by the whole world," Mahathir said.
Mahathir visited the U.S. Embassy and signed the condolences book.
Malaysia has stepped security outside embassies and the national oil company, Petronas, also increased vigilance at all its facilities after a bomb hoax Wednesday at the Petronas Twin Towers, the world's tallest buildings, forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
Malaysia said it was keeping up rigorous checks on arrivals to the mostly Muslim country as focus turns to militant groups operating out of Asia following the terror attacks on the United States.
A surge in arrivals from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq this year raised worries Malaysia was becoming a transit corridor for refugees fleeing regimes at home.
Meanwhile, Malaysian law enforcement officials said on Friday that the Philippines had not requested the arrest of nine Malaysians who were denied entry into the Philippines by suspicious customs officials.
The nine had all been in Pakistan recently for periods long enough to have included terrorism training, Philippine officials said.
The men were ethnic Malay Muslims with Malaysian passports and were flown back to Kuala Lumpur after being turned away from Cebu international airport, a Malaysian official said on condition of anonymity.
Casimiro Madarang, chief of the immigration bureau at Cebu airport, told The Associated Press that the nine had recently been in Pakistan an average of five months, which he considered as enough time for terrorism training, so they were barred from entering the Philippines.