IN the comments accompanying the condolence message of Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to the two police constables who were killed in yesterday’s (May 17) attack of the Ulu Tiram police station by a lone Jemaah Islamiyah-linked assailant, some netizens questioned the role of the Bukit Aman intelligence unit a.k.a. the “special branch”.
On the contrary, a seemingly in-the-know influencer Projek Hitam (@projekhitam) praised the “special branch (SB)” unit for its prompt action for barely a few hours after the 2.45am incident, the 34-year-old suspect was successfully identified and his family’s home was also raided.
“The arrest was successful as a result of SB information that constantly monitors every member/former member/sympathiser of any radical group for many years … throughout the country,” Projek Hitam penned on the X platform.
Tribute for Special Branch PDRM
Kes serangan sel berkait Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) di Ulu Tiram sekali lagi meletakkan Special Branch (SB) di dada media.
Beberapa jam selepas serangan di balai Ulu Tiram, suspek telah berjaya di ‘ID’ dengan pantas, dan rumah keluarga suspek juga… pic.twitter.com/qPIamc2XfK
— Projek Hitam (@projekhitam) May 17, 2024
“Not just monitoring, SB will even play a role in approaching former members of the group by helping and befriending them so that they feel valued and not marginalised.”
He added: “This process of monitoring and de-radicalisation by the SB is very helpful in reducing the temperature of violence in Malaysia, especially after the ISA (Internal Security Act) was abolished.”
Projek Hitam had earlier posted on X a Bernama Radio update detailing the incident based on what was told by Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain to the media in Johor in the aftermath of the police station assault.
As a further update, Johor police chief M. Kumar has said that the police will seek a remand order at the Magistrates Court for seven individuals who were detained yesterday (May 17) morning in connection with the incident.
Five of the seven de-trained individuals following a raid at the suspect’s house (which is 7km from the Ulu Tiram police station) were family members of the suspect (aged between 19 and 62) while two others are students from higher learning institutions who are believed to have connection with the incident.
In the 2.45am, two policemen – Constable Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar and Constable Muhamad Syafiq Ahmad Said – were killed while another colleague was injured after they were attacked by an intruder who is believed to be a Malaysian of Indonesian origin.
The injured policeman is currently receiving treatment at the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) while the intruder was shot dead at the location.
As shared by New Straits Tines correspondent Amy Chew who was at the scene of the incident, Ulu Tiram was the base for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) founder – the firebrand Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir – who set up a JI-affiliated school known as Luqmanul Hakiem.
Past investigators believed the school was the cradle for regional terrorism with some Bali bombers believed to have studied there.
Recall that two of Ulu Tiram’s Lukmanul Hakiem school’s alumni were executed for their role in the Bali bombings – Amrozi, the mechanic whose minivan carried the main bomb and Imam Samudra, the computer expert accused of masterminding the plot. The school has since been shut down.
To cut a long story short, it is of paramount important that the Ulu Tiram case is solely related to JI religious extremists and has nothing to do with the opposition PAS which is often viewed as “political extremists”.
Therefore, as aptly put it by the South China Morning Post’s Malaysia correspondent Hadi Azmi, Pakatan Haarapan (PH) cybertroopers should refrain from associating the Islamist party to the assault on the Ulu Tiram police station. – May 18, 2024
