PETALING JAYA: When a Middle Eastern restaurant opened in Serian recently, a small town about 50km from Kuching, it raised some eyebrows.
What was the operator’s marketing plan as the sleepy Sarawak town, with a population of 100,000, is not a tourist pull for visitors from the Middle East? Perhaps it was to tempt local palate, they thought.
But the truth turned out to be sinister. The Egyptian operator was an Ansar Al-Shariah Al-Tunisia operative. He even married a local 54-year-old single mother to blend in.
On Feb 2, he was among three people, including two Malaysians, detained by police in a raid against terrorists.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the group had harboured an operative of Ansar Al-Shariah Al-Tunisia, responsible for the mass killing of 38 people, mostly British tourists, in Sousse, Tunisia.
The Egyptian’s opening of a local business and marriage for the purpose of getting a spouse visa has become the modus operandi for these Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF).
Their ruse, said Mohamad Fuzi, was uncovered following the arrests of the three in Serian as well as six others in Klang Valley between Feb 2 and 9. Altogther six Egyptians, two Malaysians and a Tunisian were apprehended.
All the foreign militants have since been deported, while the Malaysians are being held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.
