Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the country’s “top three” were on the kidnap list of the militant IS or the Islamic State whose tentacles of terror have reached Malaysia.
Hishammuddin declined to name the “top three” Malaysian leaders but it is believed that they were the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
The ambitious terror scheme to abduct the top leaders and use them as barter for the release of detained IS militants was uncovered following the arrest and interrogation of IS cell members.
Describing the terror network as the “biggest threat” to national security, he said the Government is not taking anything for granted.
“They are trying to scare us and hijack the true face of Islam.”
Hishammuddin, who is also Umno vice-president, was speaking to The Star ahead of the Umno general assembly.
He said that Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had touched on IS and national security issues when he briefed the supreme council on the recently concluded Asean Summit.
“I am relieved and proud the world leaders who were here for the summit came and went without incident. I congratulated the military and the police the very next day,” he said.
He said the worry is that the kind of attraction to IS is something the authorities have not seen before.
“It is not like the draw of al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiyah. They are different from other terrorist groups, they have the money, arms and sophisticated communications especially in the social media.
“If we are not careful, what Paris and Europe is facing could happen in our country. My concern is that any fault line, whether racial, religious or political leaves a vacuum for groups like IS to exploit. No country has the answer yet how to deal with it – not America, China or the Arabs,” he said.
On the Umno general assembly kicking off on Dec 9, he said that the party’s annual gathering has always drawn maximum attention and scrutiny from the media and public.
“I hope the delegates remember that when carrying out their responsibilities next week,” he said.
As for the dramatic year that Najib and the party has gone through, he said Umno is still facing a “test of trust”, alluding to the impact of the lingering 1MDB issue.
He admitted that the member’s connection to the party is not like before. He said Umno leaders have to shed their self-denial and seek solutions for the party to remain relevant.
On whether this would be Najib’s most challenging general assembly, he said the Umno president’s strength is his ability to handle pressure, keep a cool head and focus on the priorities.
“I respect him for that. You know that they have thrown everything at us including the kitchen sink. They claimed that Najib would be arrested in the US, he would lose in a vote of no confidence, the Budget would not be passed. Nothing like that happened.
“They claimed that the division meetings would turn against him but not a single one has moved a motion against him.
“The landscape is still very fluid but taking everything into account, I would say he is okay. At the end of the day, the party is always bigger than the individual,” he said.
Hishammuddin, who had joined Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in going round the states to meet Umno grassroots leaders, said that their priority is that the party remains united.(JOCELINE TAN)
Link: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/11/30/top-leaders-on-is-kidnap-list-hisham-declines-to-name-them-but-targets-said-to-include-pm-and-dpm/
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