PETALING JAYA, June 26 ― The possibility that there are local militants training in the country has given rise to concern about threats to national security.

Crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hashim said it would be worrisome if some of the local militants, who he described as having “distorted minds”, decide to launch or attempt to launch an attack in Malaysia with the training they have here.

“Right now, they are fighting in Syria and Iraq. If they decide to attack locally, their so-called friends from the foreign missionaries may feel compelled to help them here,” he said.

Kamal said the on-going conflict in Syria was a clash between different schools of thought and was not a holy war.

“These individuals who enrol themselves have been deceived by their recruiters into thinking they are joining a holy war, but the fact is it is a suicide mission,” he said.

He said the recent arrests of local militants were a testimony to the ability of the police and intelligence agencies in tracking down suspects.

However, he urged the government to look into forming a specialised task force and set up a special fund to train additional manpower to tackle the situation.

He said the task force should operate covertly and its operations should not be limited to only the militants but include those who funded, sympathised and supported them.

Police have so far arrested about 20 suspected local militants and uncovered several training sites, including in Port Dickson and Kuala Kangsar.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Prof Dr Nor Azizan Idris, whose area of expertise includes foreign policy and security studies, said training of militants in the country posed a threat to the nation.

“As of now, the targets are in conflict areas but there have been a few incidents where they target our neighbouring countries and this would be a problem for us,” he said.

“Even if they do not have the intention to target infrastructure, the elements of militancy could be dangerous if left uncontrolled.”

Nor Azizan said the situation was worrying as such activities have been dormant for the past few years but was now re-emerging.

He said the current scenario could not be compared with the emergence of militants during the communist era.

“For one, the ideology is different as the aspiration is religion-centred. Also, during the communist era, it was more localised as compared with the current situation whereby it is regional or international and more structured,” he said.

Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan believes the present situation is still safe as the groups were not causing trouble in the country.

“We hope the police have the capability and intelligence to identify the activities and curb them before they cause trouble locally,” he said.