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Malaysia Government Sounds Extremism Alarm
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Malaysian police said Friday the country may be the subject of a wave of terrorism attacks by foreign-inspired groups that plan a "holy war" to create a purist Islamic society.
Police had arrested Thursday nine suspected members of an extremist Islamic group and Police Chief Norian Mai said several of those arrested -- all Malaysians -- had previously fought in Afghanistan and in Indonesia's Ambon island "in the name of jihad."
Norian said the group was suspected of involvement in nine crimes in the past one to two years, including the bombing of a church, an Indian temple and a video center and an attack on a police station.
The other cases involved the murder of a local politician, attempted murder including the shooting of two ethnic Indians and armed robbery. "The motive behind these activities is militant in nature and has jihad (holy war) elements," Norian said.
The Malaysian government, on the other hand, revealed Saturday that there were 17, of what it called , "deviationist Muslim cults" that "posed serious threats to national security."
Some local newspapers suggested that Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire who is residing in Afghanistan and is wanted by the U.S. for alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, might be linked to some of "the terrorists" arrested on Thursday.
Malaysia's Minister in charge of Islamic affairs Datuk Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin had reportedly said the government would soon take action against these cults.
His statement signals the government's intention to flush out extremist organizations in the country and possibly to control the movements of suspected 'Mujahideens" in and out of Malaysia.
Police said religious extremism has been on the rise in Malaysia in the last few years. It said some of these groups are resorting to violence to achieve their aims of what they call "an Islamic state in Malaysia."
Asked if the group aimed to topple the government, Norian said: "Not directly, not at this stage. I believe this is still at the preliminary stage." The police chief said weapons, including an M-16 rifle, several pistols, ammunition and materials to make explosives had been recovered but gave no further details.
The Indonesian island of Ambon has been torn by conflict between Muslims and Christians since January 1999. Thousands of Muslims have died.
This was the second time in less than a year that a radical Islamic group has been uncovered in Malaysia. But the police chief said the gang was not linked to the Al-Ma'unah Islamic sect nor to opposition party activists held under a controversial security law.
Western news agencies say that Al-Ma'unah members sparked a major security scare last July when they raided two army outposts and seized more than 100 firearms. Nineteen of them are on trial for treason and could face the gallows if convicted. Ten pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were jailed for 10 years each.
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