Muhyiddin: Christchurch shooting a reminder to cherish racial harmony

KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today the terrorist attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand last Friday showed the importance of harmony, especially in multicultural Malaysia.

Fifty people died and another 50, including three Malaysians, were injured in the shooting incidents. One Malaysian teenager is still missing.

“We don’t want what happened there to repeat in Malaysia. Thank god as of now nothing like that has taken place. We don’t have individuals losing their minds to that extent,” he said this morning at the Prison Day celebration in Kajang.

He also said all Malaysians should learn from the incident to not provoke religious enmity.

“A religion is a religion. Each religion shouldn't think they are more superior or noble among each other. We have to respect each other and not look down at other races,” he added.

Commenting of fears of retaliation here, the minister said the country’s security forces were already closely monitoring the activities of extremist organisations and terrorist groups here prior to the shootings.

“We will just continue to do so. The police know the hotspots in religious places and will continue to monitor from time to time,” he said.

Yesterday, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said he had ordered all state and district police chiefs to be on “high alert” for possible retaliation in the aftermath of the attack. 

He assured members of the public that churches and temples were being frequently monitored.

Meanwhile. the family of Malaysian Mohd Haziq Mohd Tarmizi, 17, who went missing after the shooting is still working with the police to seek his whereabouts.

Another two Malaysians, Mohd Tarmizi Shuib, 46, from Kedah and Mohd Nazril Hisham Omar, 46, from Kelantan, are being treated in hospital.

Mohd Haziq is the son of Mohd Tarmizi.

Another victim, Rahimi Ahmad, 39, from Penang underwent a third operation to remove bullet fragments from his body.

The shooter, who has been identified as an Australian named Brenton Tarrant, had live-streamed his entire killing spree on the internet, enabling the massacre to be viewed by millions of users around the globe.

Tarrant was charged with murder a day after the shooting and will be detained until April 15. The police have also arrested three others for hostilities.

The incident drew global condemnation, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also vowing to amend the country’s gun laws.