KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan is demanding an explanation from the prime minister after the special branch counter-terrorism division (E8) unit revealed it had foiled assassination attempts on several of its leaders early last year.
In a statement yesterday, the coalition’s presidential council expressed its disappointment as Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, then home minister, did not disclose the matter to leaders and the public.
“The failure to disclose the matter to the leaders and PH government has raised questions on its motive.”
The statement was signed by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
Yesterday, E8 unit assistant director Azman Omar said the suspect confessed to plotting a “lone wolf” attack to assassinate leaders, such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; Lim; former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas; and, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa.
“The suspect planned to stab them with a knife.
“We thwarted his attempts in January last year, a few months before the country was put under lockdown,” Azman told an online forum organised by the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia.
“Last year, apart from the lone wolf suspect, our unit also detained five men supporting the Islamic State in January, and arrested a man in Singapore in August, with help from Singaporean police.”
Other speakers at the forum include founding IAIS Malaysia chief executive officer Prof Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Nahdlatul Ulama secretary-general KH Yahya Cholil Staquf and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa academic Ahmad El-Muhammady. – The Vibes, March 26, 2021
