Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak defended his country's strict security laws, saying it would help defend against the Islamic State group. The terrorist organization recently threatened the country that it would avenge its members that were subjected on a crackdown.
The Jakarta Post reported that the PM said the threats of terrorism are true and the tightening of security laws ensures Malaysia's safety. The country's leader said during an international counter-terrorism conference that he won't apologize for the initiatives to strengthen national security. The PM said, "There are no civil liberties under Daesh (ISIS) and there are no shields against those who are set on committing acts of terrorism. The best way to uphold civil liberties is to ensure the safety of the nation."
According to Bloomberg News, the stricter security law was passed in 2015. The government said the country has become a target for attacks and recruitment by the ISIS, which is why the anti-terrorism law was passed. The law lets the government detain suspects without trial. This is the same law that was repelled in 2012 since it was used against the political opponents of the government back then.
Its strict detention and judicial processes has garnered major criticisms from human rights advocates, especially from the Malaysian Bar and Human Rights Watch. For the past two years, the Malaysian government has detained dozens of people suspected to be linked with terrorist groups. It has also restricted its citizens from going to Syria, and it arrested individuals who came back from the Middle Eastern country.
The Australian wrote that the PM said digital media is now the new frontier in the war against terror, were the seductive approaches of terrorists and the lies they say about Islam are countered. The online venue is where authorities saw the video that ISIS posted recently about avenging its arrested members.
National Police counter-terrorism head Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said that the video has the ISIS logo, as well as two Malaysians who are based in Syria. He said there were other videos before this.
