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The flag of Islamic State. Photo: Reuters

Singapore detains businessman who sponsored Malaysian Islamic State fighter and was planning attack on Freemasons lodge

  • Mohamed Kazali Salleh was planning an attack on a Freemasons lodge in the Malaysian state of Johor
  • The 48-year-old businessman was among seven men nabbed by Singapore and Malaysian authorities
Singapore

A Singaporean man, who gave financial support to a Syria-based Islamic State (IS) militant from Malaysia, has been detained under the city state’s tough internal security laws, authorities said on Friday.

The 48-year-old businessman, Mohamed Kazali Salleh, was among seven men nabbed by Singapore and Malaysian authorities for suspected involvement in terrorism-related activities.

The arrest highlights the continued influence of Southeast Asian militants fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria in radicalising people back home, even as the jihadists face defeat in the Middle East.

Kazali is suspected of being a “close associate” of Mohamad Aquil bin Wan Zainal Abidin, also known as Akel Zainal. Akel is believed to be the most senior Malaysian IS fighter in Syria, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Akel was reported to have told two Malaysian IS supporters to attack places of worship and police stations in the country but these plans were scuppered when the supporters were arrested in November.

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Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said Kazali not only channelled funds to Akel to fund terror activities, but was also involved in planning an attack on the Freemasons lodge in Johor state on Akel’s instruction. Police arrested and then deported him to Singapore.

The Singapore authorities said Kazali, who had been living in Johor since he was young, also paid for the militant’s trip to Syria in late 2013 to fight with IS and continued to support him financially.

Kazali saw IS fighters as “righteous” and was convinced by Akel that Muslims should travel to Syria to fight against their oppressors, the ministry’s statement said.

It added that at Akel’s behest, Kazali took a bai’ah (pledge of allegiance) to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and shared news of Akel’s terrorism-related activities in Syria on social media to inspire others to travel to the Middle Eastern country.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Photo: AP

“In December 2018, Kazali received instructions from Akel to carry out an attack against a Freemasons centre in Johor Baharu, Malaysia, but did not follow through as he was afraid to be caught by the authorities,” the statement said.

Farlina Said, a foreign policy and security analyst from Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis), said despite the military defeat of IS in 2017, the arrests could be linked to attempts to resurrect the militant organisation.

“These are basically separate arrests with most related to the channelling of funds and recruitment for Daesh,” she said, using the Arabic acronym for the extremist group.

“First, it indicates that Daesh is attempting to regroup. Second, this suggests that the Malaysian fighters in Syria still see Malaysia as a target.”

Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, Head of the National Security Studies Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the Freemasons lodge was chosen as it may be seen by the militants as a clear Western symbol in Malaysia.

The lodge is frequented by expats, prominent local businessmen and senior public servants, who gather for informal networking meetings, he said, adding it could also be the case that it appeared less guarded than other potential targets.

“The Masons are also seen in conspiracy literature as part of a hidden global cabal of powerful figures that dominate the world behind the scenes. This is of course just a conspiracy view, but I do note that in reports it is said that Akel was into conspiracy theories. The key is these people would act on what they believe, regardless of the veracity of those beliefs.

“The latest arrests drive home the reality that IS and its supporters remain keen on establishing a stronghold in Southeast Asia as it draws down in Syria,” he said.

IS and cyberattacks are biggest threats, Singapore PM says

The second Singaporean detained under the Internal Security Act was freelance car exporter Hazim Syahmi Mafoot, 28, who was influenced by Kazali and was willing to carry out attacks and kill others.

Malaysian police said the five other men arrested in raids in Selangor, Johor and Sabah were from Malaysia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and another South Asian country. The man from the Philippines was linked to the Abu Sayyaf group, Fuzi said.

Muhammad Sinatra, a security analyst also with think tank Isis, said that the cross-border connection and collaboration among the militant cells were “a norm in Southeast Asia” and that prominent militants frequently operated in the region.

“For example, [al-Qaeda-linked Indonesians] Abu Bakar Ba’asyir and Abdullah Sungkar established a religious school in Malaysia as an ideological centre before they established Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). Malaysian JI terrorists Nordin M Top and Dr Azahari were also active in Indonesia in the 2000s.

“More recently, we see Malaysians and Indonesians militants participating in the Marawi conflict in 2017. So the regional connection has always been there and should not be regarded as something new. The regional connection should not be underestimated.”

The IS-linked Abu Sayyaf militants have carried out years of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in the southern Philippines.

The targeting of the Freemason Lodge as a counterpoint to Islam is not new to Muslim-majority Malaysia, although militants usually target police stations or places of worship.

In 2016, then-Home Minister Zahid Hamidi revealed in Parliament that a Freemason lodge in the state of Selangor was on the IS hit list, and that the authorities had foiled a plot to blow up a Chinese temple and the Masonic building.

In the same year, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), a political party, which formed most of the governing coalition, asked why Freemasons were allowed to operate in Malaysia, linking them to the secret society, the Illuminati. Leaders from Umno threatened to stage a protest against the stonemason fraternity.

Malaysia’s main Grand Lodges have been in operation for decades.

More recently, a senior politician from the Malaysian Islamic Party claimed that a United Nations treaty to eliminate racial discrimination was a “Freemason agenda” to destroy religion, race and the country.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: suspected sponsor of i.s. militant arrested
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