Ministry monitoring militant-related activities among varsity students: Zambry
Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said this monitoring follows the recent arrest of several individuals, including 36 Bangladeshis, suspected of being involved in the militant movement based on the ideology under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: The Bangladeshi migrant challenge
Most Bangladeshis who come to work in Malaysia have one aim: earn decent money and return home. But an increasing number of them are in the country to start a syndicate or two or to be part of them, peddling fake immigration services or even sham marriages. Their initial targets were their countrymen, but as their business grew, the net was cast wider, attracting other foreign nationals as clients or fellow peddlers. The Immigration Department is rightly worried at the growing number of syndicates of such a nature. So must the nation be. Only recently, the police arrested 36 Bangladeshi nationals in Selangor and Johor allegedly involved in militant activities in a series of raids that began on April 24. They were alleged to be part of a network that was raising funds from Bangladeshi migrant workers for terrorist activities in Syria and Bangladesh, with the aim of overthrowing the governments there. Of the 36, 15 have been deported and the rest have either been charged for terrorism offences or are under detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012. This may be a developing story for now, but it has a troubling past in the country. In 2015, the police arrested five people for being involved in militant networks, one of whom was a Bangladeshi. The following year, a Bangladeshi restaurateur was arrested for weapons trafficking following an Interpol alert. In January 2017, two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested — one in Kuala Lumpur and another in Sabah — for alleged involvement with a terror cell in the Philippines. The presence of the Bangladeshi syndicates and terrorist cells here points to at least two recurring issues: weakness in enforcement and corruption among officers. One estimate puts the number of Bangladeshi migrant workers legally in the country at 900,000. And we haven't even added the undocumented Bangladeshi workers being engaged by errant employers. To be fair to our enforcement agencies, that is one huge number of people to keep an eye on. But robust oversight can be made to happen at the beginning of the migrant workers' entry into and exit out of the country. The first is possible by working with the government of Bangladesh in ensuring that only Bangladeshis with squeaky clean records are permitted to work in Malaysia. Our embassy in Dhaka can provide the extra oversight. But that doesn't mean our enforcement agencies needn't keep an eye on them once they are here. Even the squeaky clean can be influenced by ideology or money. The second is to make employers responsible for the exit of the migrant workers after their contracts end. Employing locals will help, too. Robust enforcement also means getting rid of the undocumented migrant workers of all nationalities in the country, estimated to be between 1.2 and 3.5 million as at December 2022 by the Malaysian Bar. One of the reasons why there are so many undocumented foreign workers in the country is the prevalence of corruption among enforcement officers. Two things need to be done to help curb it. One, recruit only officers with integrity.
Daily Express
19 hours ago
- Daily Express
Additional RM1 million to address UMS water problem
Published on: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 Published on: Tue, Jul 15, 2025 Text Size: There will also be the installation of an underground water tank with an additional capacity of 0.13 million litres to boost the water supply. Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government has committed another RM1 million for a short-term intervention plan to reduce water supply disruptions at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof made the announcement during his visit to the varsity, Monday. Advertisement The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister added that the allocation for the plan under his Ministry would be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry, the Sabah Water Department and UMS. It would include the construction of a dedicated distribution pipeline to connect UMS's existing underground water source. There will also be the installation of an underground water tank with an additional capacity of 0.13 million litres to boost the water supply. Apart from that, automated modulating valves will be installed to stabilise water levels in UMS's service tanks. 'It is expected to directly benefit more than 3,000 students, especially those residing in Tun Mustapha Residential College and Tun Fuad Residential College, who are frequently affected by water supply disruptions. 'To ensure adequate water pressure to student housing areas, the Sabah Water Department will also install in-line booster pumps from the service tanks to both residential colleges, using the existing bypass pipeline built by UMS.' The intervention works are expected to take one month and will contribute to the improvement of UMS's water supply system operations. Present during the inspection were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir and UMS vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor. In May 2023, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had announced an allocation of RM3 million to solve UMS's water problems; the following year, Zambry also added another RM2 million for the varsity. Despite the allocations, thousands of students are still struggling with the same issues, which prompted some of them to stage protests against the government. The Sabah Government had said the causes of disruption included ongoing construction of treatment plants and their structures, damage and water theft. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- New Straits Times
Federal govt allocates additional RM1mil to ease UMS water woes
KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Government has committed another RM1 million for a short-term intervention plan to reduce water supply disruptions at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof made the announcement during his visit to the varsity here today (July 14). The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister added that the allocation for the plan under his ministry would be implemented in collaboration with the ministry, the Sabah Water Department, and UMS. It would include the construction of a dedicated distribution pipeline to connect UMS's existing underground water source. There will also be the installation of an underground water tank with an additional capacity of 0.13 million litres to boost the water supply. Apart from that, automated modulating valves will be installed to stabilise water levels in UMS's service tanks. "It is expected to directly benefit more than 3,000 students, especially those residing in Tun Mustapha Residential College and Tun Fuad Residential College, who are frequently affected by water supply disruptions. "To ensure adequate water pressure to student housing areas, the Sabah Water Department will also install in-line booster pumps from the service tanks to both residential colleges, using the existing bypass pipeline built by UMS." The intervention works are expected to take one month and will contribute to the improvement of UMS's water supply system operations. Present during the inspection were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir and UMS vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor. In May 2023, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had announced an allocation of RM3 million to solve UMS's water problems; the following year, Zambry also added another RM2 million for the varsity. Despite the allocations, thousands of students are still struggling with the same issues, which prompted some of them to stage protests against the government. The Sabah government had said the causes of disruption included ongoing construction of treatment plants and their structures, damage and water theft.
