KUALA LUMPUR: Police have tightened security at churches and temples in the country immediately after the Christchurch terror attack at two mosques last Friday.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said he had instructed state and district police chiefs as well as ground officers to monitor houses of worship in case of any retaliation.
"Malaysians do not have to worry, I can give the assurance that police are always on high alert," he told reporters
after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the police's Cooperative Limited, Retired Senior Police Officers’ Association (Respa) and the Malaysian Safety Industry Association at Bukit Aman, here, today.
On a separate issue, when asked if there was a possibility that militant members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Maute group and the Royal Sulu Force (RSF) were hiding in the Peninsular, Mohamad Fuzi said police were investigating the matter.
"Those arrested in the Mar 11 and Mar 12 operations are Filipinos, they were either escaping from the security forces of the Philippines or protecting militant members.
"We are investigating the matter as we do not allow foreign terrorist fighters to use Malaysia for their activities," he said.
Yesterday in a statement, Mohamad Fuzi said 12 Filipinos believed to be members of the outlawed ASG, Maute and RSF, and a Malaysian, were arrested in Semporna and Tambunan, Sabah last week.
He said some of the suspects fought along with the Maute group in the Marawi siege, in southern Philippines in 2017 and some were responsible for Sabah’s Lahad Datu and Semporna incursions in 2013.