Malaysia orders a clamp down on cult members

Malaysia orders a clamp down on cult members

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Department heads in Malaysia's government service have been ordered to crack down on staff who belong to the Al-Ma'unah mystical Islamic cult, a senior official said on Friday.

Abdul Halim Ali, Chief Secretary to the Government, said they had been instructed to identify staff involved in the Al-Ma'unah group, which raided an armory and sparked a huge security alert earlier this month.

"Investigations must be carried out because some of them are involved in a subtle way," he was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.

"The investigations will take time but what's important is that action will be taken against such supporters who have clearly shown that they are ready to resort to violence ..."

Abdul Halim, speaking at Lumut in the northern state of Perak, said the government was also monitoring the involvement of civil servants in other "deviationist" movements.

Police had also been directed to probe the activities of such groups.

Abdul Halim said department heads must ensure that only approved religious classes and lectures were allowed in their departments.

"Some of the classes have been misused by certain quarters ... to make wild accusations against the government," he said. Abdul Halim said there had been attempts by "certain quarters" to influence government servants, including servicemen, into opposing the government.

He described this as "high treason."

Al-Ma'unah members looted two army installations in Perak on July 2 but were later cornered on a jungle hilltop. A total of 27 surrendered on July 6 after a standoff with a huge police and military force but not before they had murdered two hostages.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said cult members want to topple his government to set up an Islamic state.

Defense Minister Najib Razak has said policemen and "highly qualified" civil servants are among members of Al-Ma'unah. One serving officer and two former soldiers were part of the arms gang.

Opposition

Separately, Malaysian opposition leaders accused Mahathir on Friday of using an armed confrontation with Muslim cultists to discredit the country's Islamic opposition.

"As a responsible prime minister, he should place all the information or proof to the public," said Syed Husin Ali, president of the Malaysian People's Party.

Mahathir said on Thursday that most of the 1,800 members of the Al-Ma'unah group belonged to the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). PAS denied any links with the Al-Ma'unah.

"Instead of trying to tarnish PAS with the Al-Ma'unah brush, Dr. Mahathir should explain how a motley group without any experience in security operations could remove such a huge cache of arms and ammunition from two heavily guarded military camps," Chandra Muzaffar, deputy president of the National Justice Party, asked in a statement.

Chandra demanded an independent probe into the security breach.

Syed Husin's party, the Justice Party and PAS are members of an opposition coalition which is challenging Mahathir's 19-year rule.

Mahathir's main objective was to implicate PAS, "which he considers his main political enemy," Syed Husin said in a statement.

In another development, police said on Friday that Malaysian Special Branch officers and bomb disposal experts were investigating a mystery explosion which damaged a shopping center and injured one woman.

The blast occurred in a square near a shopping center in the town of Klang west of Kuala Lumpur on Thursday night, shattering shop windows and injuring an Indonesian shop worker.

"We are still investigating and there is no definite cause yet," said national police spokesman Superintendent Benjamin Hasbie.

He said the police Special Branch, which handles political cases, was involved in the investigation along with a bomb disposal unit. Hasbie said the condition of the injured woman was stable.