Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

cooperated closely with the international community on counterterrorism efforts, and RMP and
other law enforcement officers participated in capacity building training programs.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: In April, the parliament repealed
Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA), under which Malaysia had for decades routinely detained
suspected terrorists without formal judicial proceedings for renewable two-year terms. Three
separate declarations of emergency were also repealed on November 24, 2011, which led to the
expiration of the Emergency Ordinance in May 2012. In place of the ISA, the parliament passed
the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) which took effect on July 31, along
with amendments to the Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and Evidence Act. Under the
SOSMA, once an arrest has been made, the next-of-kin must be notified immediately and the
accused must have access to a lawyer within 24 hours. A high-ranking police officer can extend
the detention period to 28 days, at which time the accused must be charged or released. The law
also states that a person cannot be charged for his political beliefs or activities. The repeal of the
decades-old ISA and its replacement by the SOSMA, along with several amendments to existing
laws, was a positive development, moving Malaysia’s counterterrorism approach toward a
criminal prosecution-based system.
There were no reported arrests under the ISA in 2012. In October, Lebanon arrested two
Malaysians believed to be suicide bombers with suspected al-Qa’ida links. In February,
Malaysian police detained Iranian Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, who had allegedly fled to Malaysia
from Thailand after a group of Iranians in Bangkok accidentally detonated bombs allegedly
intended to target Israeli interests. Sedaghatzadeh was captured when he attempted to depart
Malaysia for Iran from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. A Malaysian court ordered his
extradition to Thailand but Sedaghatzadeh reportedly was appealing the order; at year’s end he
remained in Malaysian custody pending appeal.
Malaysia has very liberal visa requirements generally, and does not require an entry visa for
citizens of many countries. As part of its visa and immigration controls, Malaysia continued to
implement a biometrics system introduced in June 2011 that records the fingerprints of the right
and left hand index fingers at all ports of entry. The National Foreigners Enforcement and
Registration System reportedly was linked to the police's existing Biometric Fingerprint
Identification System. The system has had problems, but the police reported that the new
biometric system was successful overall. The country also continued an effort to register foreign
workers, many of whom were undocumented, and to regularize their status or facilitate their
return to their countries of origin. The effort involved the biometric registration of over two
million foreign workers and undocumented immigrants.
Malaysia continued to participate in the Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance program.
The program began to transition in 2012 from its focus on cyber investigations and cyber
security to a focus on border security. Installation of the eighth and final maritime surveillance
radar was completed in 2012. Located on the northeastern coast of Sabah, these radars provided
additional maritime domain awareness capability for the Malaysian Joint Forces Command. At
Malaysian government request, the United States conducted a three-day counterterrorism
workshop for Malaysian police and prosecutors entitled “Preventing Acts of Terrorism Through
Proactive Policing and Prosecution,” which focused on best practices for investigating and
successfully prosecuting conspiracy and material support cases under Malaysia’s new law.
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