Minister says at least 50,000 Malaysians support Islamic State

malaysia ISIL influx
50,000 ISIL Sympathizers Have Inundated Malaysia: Say Minister – www.plnmedia.com
At least 50,000 Malaysians support the so-called Islamic State (IS) the country’s transport minister said on Saturday, raising alarm about possible attacks in the Southeast Asian nation.

The figure of 50,000 IS supporters was based on police intelligence estimates, Transport Minister Liow Tiong said.

“If only one percent of these sympathisers turn radical and if they attack any part of Malaysia, we will be in trouble,” Liow told a conference in Kuala Lumpur on national security and the IS threat.

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About 100 Malaysians have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with IS and other armed groups, according to police.

Anti-terrorism police have charged more than two dozen IS sympathisers in court.

In November, Malaysia deployed 2,000 soldiers on the streets of Kuala Lumpur after unconfirmed reports of an “imminent terrorist threat” raised alert level.

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A police memo, leaked to local media, detailed the presence of at least 10 potential suicide bombers in Kuala Lumpur and eight elsewhere in the country.

The document revealed details of a meeting between members of the armed Philippine groups – the Moro National Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf – along with those from IS.

An agreement at the meeting was made to deploy Abu Sayyaf and IS fighters to Kuala Lumpur and to Sabah, Malaysia’s eastern-most state, the memo said.

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