PUTRAJAYA: Indonesia’s detention of a fertiliser-laden Malaysian vessel is no reason for the people to speculate that Malaysia is supplying fertiliser for militants to make explosives, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday.
He said the police had contacted their Indonesian counterparts to obtain details of the vessel, crew and the cargo.
It was reported yesterday that Indonesian authorities in Bali had detained a Malaysian ship carrying about 30 tonnes of fertiliser which police believe may have been intended for making bombs.
Khalid said the Indonesian police could have assumed that the fertiliser was for making explosives before they conducted their investigation.
“Fertiliser is carried by vessels around the world, and it is not something unusual,” he told reporters after launching the 1AmanWeek carnival at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here.
Khalid, when asked to comment on the detention of the vessel in Bali while en route to Sulawesi, a region known for militant violence, said he believed that the fertiliser might not be used for purposes other than farming.
“For me, the 30 tonnes of fertiliser is a large quantity to be carried by a vessel like that, what more if it is for terrorim-related activities. If that is so, other means would have been used to move the fertiliser,” he said.
“So, let us not draw conclusions that our country supplies fertiliser for terrorists before the investigation is conducted,” he said.
Khalid also said that the police would deradicalise and rehabilitate a Malaysian being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre once he was transferred to a Malaysian jail.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday in New York that Mohamad Bashir Lap, one of two Malaysians held at Guantanamo Bay, might be transferred to a Malaysian jail and undergo deradicalisation in the country.
Mohamad Bashir and Mohd Farik Amin are the two Malaysians being held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp since 2006 for their involvement with the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group in early 2000.
They are also alleged to have been involved in the bombing at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and were detained in Bangkok that year.
On another matter, Khalid said police did not show favouritism in investigating certain individuals, including Red Shirt Movement president Mohamad Ali or Ali Tinju and DAP Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi in connection with their statements.
“Actually, we detained Ali Tinju … in fact, when he was asked to help in the investigation, he cooperated by arriving right on time to the police station, and was released on bail,” he said.
On 1AmanWeek, Khalid said the three-day carnival, with the theme ‘The Police and Community are Never Separate’, would showcase various events including an exhibition on police assets. — Bernama