KL vows to keep tabs on religious organization

KL vows to keep tabs on religious organization

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad said on Sunday the government would strictly monitor
religious extremist groups after a July 2 arms heist by an
Islamic cult sparked a security alert.

"It has become a security issue and if left unchecked, it can
jeopardize national unity and prosperity," Mahathir was quoted as
saying by the national news agency Bernama.

"We shouldn't let tragedy pass by without a lesson learnt;
that is an extreme action is a danger to national unity, peace
and stability."

Supporters of the Islamic Al-Ma'unah sect looted two army
installations in the northern state of Perak on July 2 but were
cornered on a jungle hilltop. They surrendered after a three-day
standoff during which two hostages were murdered.

Mahathir said earlier the Al-Ma'unah members had aimed to
topple the government.

The premier, during a visit to Sarawak state on Borneo island
on Sunday, said the government would not condone the use of
religious or racial issues that could divide the people.

He said a certain group, which he did not identify, had been
sowing seeds of hatred against the government for some time, and
urged Malaysians to continue to exercise racial tolerance and to
remain united.

Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP),
urged the government to form a joint government-opposition
committee to curb what he called a "spiraling of the
politicization" of the arms heist.

"In the past one week, there appears to be a deliberate
attempt to create fear, particularly among non-Muslims, that the
country is crawling with violence-prone 'mad mullahs' trying to
pull down the entire edifice of society," he said in a statement
on Sunday.

Lim said the government was suffering a "grave credibility
gap" amid widespread suspicion and skepticism among the people
about various accounts and explanations by federal ministers.

Lim, who has rejected a "narrow in-house" army probe,
reiterated his call for an independent and wide-ranging inquiry
into the episode.

Mahathir quietly celebrated his 19 years in office on Sunday,
vowing to stay on until the nation has a firmer grip on its
political and economic woes.

On the anniversary of his premiership, democratic Asia's
longest tenancy, the 74-year-old Mahathir remains firmly in power
after surviving his biggest tests in the last three years -- the
Asian financial crisis and the sacking of his former protege
Anwar Ibrahim.

Politicians and analysts said Mahathir's next big tasks
include mending a split among the politically dominant Malays and
preserving democracy, freedom and justice for the masses.

"I think it will go a long way towards strengthening the
institutions of democracy, peace and freedom," said opposition
leader Lim Guan Eng. "He should loosen up a bit, the government
should be more liberal, more accountable and transparent."

Mahathir has also to overcome the infighting within his United
Malays National Organization (UMNO), the backbone of his ruling
Barisan Nasional coalition, and the split among the Malays who
form just over half of Malaysia's 22 million people.

"He has done tremendously well but the years ahead are full of
challenges, especially in making his party even more relevant in
the near future," said Megat Najmuddin Khas, a prominent
corporate leader and an UMNO member.

"He has to re-establish the credibility of the party among the
voters and among the young in particular. We have seen a certain
amount of disillusionment and cynicism among the young towards
the party," Megat said.

UMNO lost some support from the Malays in the November general
elections, allowing a fundamentalists Muslim party to gain
inroads in several states.

Local newspapers, normally quick to heap praise on Mahathir,
were silent on Sunday about the occasion. Mahathir has no public
engagement on Sunday but he spent his Saturday visiting a new
hill resort in Sarawak on Malaysia's Borneo.

The outspoken Mahathir last week rejected suggestions that
Malaysia could face considerable political uncertainty once he
gives up the reins he has tightly clasped since 1981.

He said he was confident that Malaysia would remain stable and
developed even without him.