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Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s government will enlist the help of universities to stop Islamic militants using campuses as recruitment centers for their violent struggle, according to the deputy premier.

Muhyiddin Yassin said police would hold a special briefing for university administrators following the recent deportation of 10 foreigners for trying to recruit Malaysian students to wage holy war overseas.

The militants were detained earlier this year for trying to revive the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) by attracting new members from Malaysian universities.

The organization has been linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for major attacks in the region, including the 2002 Bali bombings.

“A special briefing will be given ... it will discuss the form of cooperation that can be taken among all parties to curb this unhealthy trend which can affect national security,” Muhyiddin told the Bernama news agency late on Tuesday.

“The police have a lot of information and know movements, so the cooperation of all parties is very important to safeguard national security,” added Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister.

Police chief Musa Hassan said two university campuses were being monitored as some local and foreign students from the Middle East and Africa were spreading jihadist ideology, the New Straits Times reported Wednesday.

“Action will be taken if they [the foreigners] go overboard,” Musa told the paper, without naming the universities. The police chief could not be reached for comment.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Tuesday that foreign militants were using mainly-Muslim Malaysia as a base, confirming there were both religious and non-Islamic militant groups operating in the country.

He said the militants were using Malaysia to carry out financial transactions, share information and recruit new members.


Agence France-Presse