KUALA LUMPUR: Armed Forces personnel suspected to be involved with Islamic State (IS) make up just one per cent of militants detected by authorities so far.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said despite the low number, the Ministry takes the matter seriously and has ordered that comprehensive action be taken to curtail the terrorist group's ideology from spreading to security personnel.
He said the Armed Forces Religious Corps and Royal Intelligence Corps have been tasked to detect soldiers who show interest in extremist groups, and warn members of the security forces against terrorism.
The initiative includes educating soldiers on the true meaning of Islam and jihad.
Hishammuddin, who spoke to reporters after launching the 40th Pacific Armies Management Seminar at a hotel here earlier today, however, did not reveal the exact number of soldiers who have been detected to be influenced by IS.
The four-day seminar, themed 'Unity and Effort: Building Civil-Military Partnerships to Counter Violent Extremism’, has gathered senior military officers from 30 countries, including the US, Australia, China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
It is co-hosted by the US Army Pacific and the Malaysian Army.
On a related matter, Hishammuddin said he will be conducting working visits to Hawaii this week for the US-Asean Defence Ministers Meeting, before going to Paris and Ankara to meet his counterparts there.