M'sian Home Minister: No room for terrorists here ?

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is not a terrorist breeding ground because there is no room for them, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (above).

“We know exactly what their targets are and at the moment, I can safely say they have no plans to make Malaysia a target,” he said after a courtesy call from Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna at his office here yesterday.

Hishammuddin, when asked whether Malaysia faced a backlash following Osama bin Laden's killing on Monday, said the police had tightened security at strategic places like embassies and public areas.

He added the police's counter-terrorism unit received information from their counterparts from across the globe on a regular basis.

“As we speak now, there is no real concern. They (the terrorists) are mobile and sometimes do end up on our shores,” he said. “But, that does not mean we are breeding terrorists.”

Meanwhile, PAS Youth has condemned the al-Qaeda leader's killing.

Its Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan said it was a criminal offence as Osama had not been proven guilty in any court.

“America should not divert world attention from its act of terrorism in Iraq,” he said as he condemned Israel's terrorism in Palestine.

Nasrudin said Osama's murder had “opened the eyes of the world to fight the global superpower's atrocities”.

PAS' Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo' Lo Ghazali twittered, saying “Jenazah Osama pun mereka takut. Apa bukti Osama dah mati?” (They are even afraid of Osama's remains. What proof is there that Osama is dead?)

PKR's outspoken leader Badrul Hisham Shahrin, who is known as Chegubard, also twittered that “Kematian Osama xakn puaskn hati US dia tetap cari musuh baru supaya sentiasa ada alasan takut2kan dan tekan dunia...alFatehah buat Osama dll.” (Osama's death will not satisfy the US, it will continue to look for new enemies to give excuses and frighten the world.)

Also twittering was Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who said that most Muslims rejected Osama's ideology of violence.

He added: “Our challenge: Struggle for freedom and justice (including Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan).”

-The Star/Asia News Network