ON July 2, 2000, Malaysians nationwide woke up to the news that an unknown militant Islamic deviant sect had pulled off a bold and daring arms heist at two military camps in Perak.
The group, dressed in military fatigues and using three Mitsubishi Pajero vehicles painted to look like military vehicles, had successfully fooled army personnel and convinced them to hand over a massive cache of weapons and ammunition.
The weapons would be used to overthrow the government, which the group claimed was corrupt and un-Islamic.
That was Malaysia's first introduction to Al Ma'unah, a sect which began as a group to teach silat and traditional forms of healing.
Led by former army private Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, the group's mission eventually took on a more sinister undertone. Amin, described as a stern yet charismatic individual, held sway over his 29 followers, one of whom was a serving Royal Malaysian Air Force major.
Amin employed a philosophy of rahsia dalam rahsia (secrets within secrets), and claimed to possess vast knowledge and wisdom. This knowledge, he claimed, would only be shared with his followers if they obeyed him without question.
He had also brainwashed his followers into acknowledging that he had mystical powers and that he had the ability to make them invincible to any weapon.
As such, on July 2, 2000, 20 members of the group, posing as military men, drove to the Post 2 Kuala Rhui Camp, followed by Camp Bn 304 of the Territorial Army.
Feigning a surprise inspection, they proceeded to conduct an "emergency spot check" of the weapons and ammunition stored at the camps. In all, the sect's members took away a massive haul of arms, including 97 M16 assault rifles, two Steyr AUG rifles, four general purpose machine guns, six light machine guns, five grenade launchers, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Setting up base in Bukit Jenalik, Sauk, near Kuala Kangsar in Perak, the sect's activities were exposed when villagers reported hearing sounds of gunfire coming from the group's target practice sessions.
The country's security forces, realising the severity of the situation, swung into action. A containment cordon was set up around Bukit Jenalik, with several security personnel sent to penetrate the camp.
Two policemen and an army corporal, however, were captured and taken hostage by the group. In a subsequent communication with the authorities, the group voiced its demand for the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to resign within 24 hours.
The security personnel were abused and tortured by Al Ma'unah members. Army Corporal Matthew Medan was shot by a member of the group.
The bloodshed escalated on July 5, when a shootout took place between Al Ma'unah members and security forces. When one Al Ma'unah member was killed, Amin, in retaliation, killed Detective Corporal Raju Saghadevan, one of the policemen they were holding hostage.
Security personnel employed all available means to limit the bloodshed. The group's family members were brought to the area and using loudhailers, pleaded with the men to lay down their arms and surrender.
On July 6, the fifth day of the stand-off, the police's VAT69 commando team, led by Deputy Superintendent Abd Razak Mohd Yusoff, made its way to the hilltop where the Al Ma'unah members were holding out.
After more than two hours of discussions, the security personnel convinced the sect's members to surrender, bringing an end to a possible loss of even more lives.
After five days and the involvement of more than 3,000 police and army personnel, the stand-off finally ended, with all the stolen weapons recovered.
Amin and his men were eventually charged with committing high treason and "waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong", and became the first group of people convicted of such an offence in Malaysia.
Fifteen of Amin's followers who were directly involved in the heist were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the rest were given 10-year sentences.
Amin and three of his lieutenants were sentenced to death and hung in 2006.