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Police to monitor activities in Malaysian mosques |
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July 28, 2000
KUALA LUMPUR (AP) - Policemen are being deployed at mosques in Malaysia to monitor sermons and act against those who try to incite people, a senior government official said Thursday. Officials would keep a close watch on mosques to ensure that no political speeches were made, Abdul Hamid Othman, a minister in the prime minister's office, was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency. "The government is also sending police because from the security aspect police have clearer powers, for example to act on talks deemed provocative under the sedition laws," he told local reporters. The government stepped up its vigilance at mosques after an Islamic militant group this month raided two military armories and fought gunbattles with the army and police in a northern Malaysian jungle. Authorities say the Al-Ma'unah cult, which espouses jihad, or holy war, wanted to use the stolen weapons to create strife in the predominantly Muslim nation and even try to topple Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's secular government. The cult, led by a former army private, triggered Malaysia's biggest security scare in decades and raised fears of Islamic radicalism when members posing as military officers tricked sentries and entered the armories inside two heavily guarded army bases on July 2. The militants stole more than 100 assault rifles and grenade launchers and tortured and killed two hostages before surrendering after a four-day standoff against some 1,000 police and troops. |