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.