KUALA LUMPUR: Four foreigners were among 13 people aged 18 and above arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 (POTA) and placed under detention orders over the past six years, since 2018.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said procedures under POTA 2015 involve detention or restriction orders issued by the Prevention of Terrorism Board.
"In 2018, six people comprising four men and two women were arrested. Of this total, three were foreigners.
"The following year, three people comprising two men and a woman, were arrested. Of this total, two were foreigners," he said in a written parliamentary reply.
Saifuddin added that only one arrest was made in 2021, involving a woman, and another in 2022, involving a man.
He said this in response to a question from Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) who asked the ministry on the number of arrests and prosecutions made under POTA from January 2018 until September this year.
At the same time, Saifuddin said the most recent arrests under POTA occurred in 2023, involving a man and a woman, both Malaysian citizens, who have been placed under detention orders.
"For 2024, as of Sept 30, there were no people placed under detention orders under POTA 2015," he said.