The organization is banned in Malaysia .. Kuala Lumpur investigates the links of parliamentarians Tamil Tigers

Samer Allawi-Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police have detonated a high-caliber bomb by announcing the arrest of 12 people, including two parliamentarians, on charges of belonging to the outlawed Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels.

Five suspects, including a teacher, were arrested on Saturday in an operation involving three Malaysian states - Selangor, Malacca and Penang, Malaysian police chief Ayub Khan Maiden Pichai said.

On Thursday, police announced the arrest of seven others on suspicion of belonging to the Tamil Tigers, and the Malaysian security official said that among the first group of detainees are two members of the country's parliament, and are suspected of belonging to the organization that designated a terrorist in Malaysia in 2014.

Ayub Khan said at a press conference held at the police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning that the investigations indicate a contact between the two groups, and that the arrests were made under the Special Procedures for Security Crimes known as "Sosma."

The Malaysian official pointed out that the materials seized in the possession of the two groups related to the Tamil Tigers, which was defeated in 2010 in Sri Lanka, and was fighting for the establishment of a Hindu state north and east of Sri Lanka.

Indian extension
Malaysian police have hinted that they may ask to put the name of the Indian politician in the state of Tamil Nadu, "Sinthamizhan Seaman," on the black list of those banned from entering the country. And the extent of his threat to Malaysian security.

The arrests follow a massive campaign by Hindu organizations in Malaysia against Indian Muslim preacher and theologian Zakir Naik.These organizations, along with the Democratic Action Party, demanded the deportation of Zakir Naik and his extradition to India.The Indian authorities accuse the preacher of money laundering and incitement to terrorism.

The Malaysian government seemed embarrassed by Indian pressures and its internal ethnic sensitivity. It considered the case of Zakir Naik thorny, saying it would not hand him over on Indian charges, but banned him from speaking in public lectures or on social media.

reactions
Lim Kate Siang, an advisor to the Malaysian minority-dominated Democratic Action Party (DDA), was quick to reiterate his demand for the abolition of the special procedures law. He said in a press release that he had visited the families of the detainees, dismissed accusations by parliamentarians of Indian ethnicity of belonging to a terrorist organization. For decades.

While the head of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Minister of Finance Guang Ing tried to reassure party members that there were no more arrests within the party, the head of the police counter-terrorism department said at his press conference that arrests would be made against any suspect regardless of party affiliation.

An image of Malaysian Human Resources Minister Kula Sigaran spread with supporters of the Tamil Tigers, but the head of the anti-terrorism department said the image of the Indian minority minister was insufficient to arrest him.

While ANP chairman Anwar Ibrahim denied that any of the detainees were members of his party, Anwar, speaking at a party conference in Penang state, said he supported the fight against terrorism under the special procedures law, but said there were provisions that needed to be amended.