PUTRAJAYA: The government views seriously the death threat made by a group of youths to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar on the social media as it could lead to bigger dangers to the nation in the future.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, three steps must be taken to contain the threat of extremism, including through education, to provide an understanding about security to the younger generation.
“Secondly, the existing laws need to be implemented effectively, and thirdly, cooperation among the public to help the authorities take the appropriate steps.
“We cannot take this lightly because today, extremism is a global issue…some of our people are involved with the IS (Islamic State), which is clear proof that it has already happened in Malaysia,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters when asked to comment on the threat by a group of youths on the social media after chairing a Special Meeting on the Post Floods Action Plan here yesterday.
Two days ago, a provocative 1:27 minute video showing three masked men who called themselves Anak Malaysia Anti Demokrasi (Amad) went viral on the social media. They had earlier planned to burn fireworks at all the courthouses throughout the country at 11.30pm on Feb 18, while this time, they threatened to blow up the IGP’s car and kill him.
Asked about the proposal by various parties that a new subject be created to provide understanding of security to students, Muhyiddin who is also Education Minister, said the matter had first to be studied due to the limited schooling hours.
“We have limited time in terms of contact hours at school so any proposal to add more (subjects) is not practical and not easy for the ministry. But, I think the introduction of a specific subject within the co-curriculum that is related to the issue of security, the need for the students to understand the danger and the role of social media that might have impact on their lives…we will look into that,” he said. — Bernama