MALAYSIA Increased scrutiny on umrah pilgrims
to ensure no IS terrorist links 
Wednesday March 11, 2015
NUSAJAYA: Malaysian umrah pilgrims will soon have to undergo strict scrutinising procedures before they could be allowed to perform the minor pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the move was deemed necessary in view of missing Malaysian umrah pilgrims.
He said that the Government wanted to make sure the purpose of them going to Mecca and Medina was solely to perform the pilgrimage and not joining the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.
“There are cases of missing umrah pilgrims from Malaysia who went missing after performing the umrah to join the IS,’’ Nazri told reporters after visiting Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios here on Wednesday.
He said that the scrutinising of the umrah pilgrims would involve those travelling to Mecca individually as well as those going via umrah packages offered by travel agents.
Nazri said the security agencies and authorities would have to come out with the security procedures to ensure that the Malaysian umrah pilgrims would return to the country after performing their umrah.
“We will work closely with the Saudi government to tackle the issue (of missing umrah pilgrims) as the issuance of umrah visas comes under their jurisdiction,’’ he said.
Nazri said apart from umrah pilgrims, a similiar move would also involve Malaysians going holiday abroad as they could also be going to Iraq and Syria via a third country to join IS.
He supported the proposed Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) said he would bring the issue to be debated in the current Parliament sitting at the IS threat was not only to Malaysia but also the world.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Natio...mrah-pilgrims/
Police detect two individuals
involved in IS through umrah
March 11, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have detected two individuals who joined the Islamic State (IS) militant group through their umrah (minor haj) trip before meeting up with the militants in Syria.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said they had used the services of an umrah agency for the trip to ease their plan and to avoid detection by the authorities of their real intention.
“So far, we have detected two such cases where on the pretext of going for umrah, they actually wanted to join the IS militants.
“They went (to the Holy Land) not for a religious purpose….imagine, the umrah being misused,” said Khalid, who declined to reveal the identity of the two individuals.
He was met by reporters after handing out letters of appreciation to selected courteous road users and the best police contingents in the “Op Selamat” 6/2015 held in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration.
Khalid said police believed that the umrah agency had no connection with the individuals involved in the IS.
He said the problem, however, needed to be tackled holistically, including through legal means.
The IGP said police had so far identified 50 Malaysians who had gone to Syria to join the IS, while another 70 had been arrested including those trying to leave the country to go to Syria and also those who had returned from there.
Recently, Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin revealed about individuals planning to join the IS movement through the umrah package, and information on this was obtained through sharing of information with certain countries, including members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
On another development, Khalid said police would call Penang Deputy Chief Minister II, P. Ramasamy over his statement deemed as racist which appeared on social websites.
“I have been informed that it is an old tweet, but we will still investigate whether it is an old or new tweet. We will call him and investigate the matter.”
Khalid said to avoid trouble or tension, elected leaders and community leaders should be careful before making statements, especially on social websites, as these could incite their followers.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/cat...gh-umrah-trip/ 
reconstruction of Bab Fath minarets (2 of the 6 demolished during Mataf expansion)
