The Home Minister has requested a briefing from the police on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s move to list three Malaysians on its consolidated terrorism watchlist, according to Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who said he was only informed of the matter “a day or two ago”.
Saifuddin also stated that he has contacted the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain to get a better understanding of the issue. He emphasized the importance of obtaining correct facts before proceeding further, while launching the Shaftsbury Putrajaya passport centre on Monday (Feb 19).
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Prior to this, a leaked letter from the Foreign Affairs Ministry had surfaced, instructing for the three men on the list to no longer be involved with Ops Ihsan, which oversees the delivery of humanitarian aid from Malaysia to the people of Palestine in Gaza.
The Ops Ihsan secretariat chairman Jismi Johari confirmed having received the letter dated Feb 15, in which the ministry notified him of the three being listed on the TSC. Jismi also disclosed that the three were not heavily involved in Ops Ihsan matters, but the secretariat was still trying to obtain confirmation on the extent of their involvement.
As a result of these developments, Jismi advised all activists and NGOs to exercise caution when interacting with foreign individuals and organizations.