Suspected Abu Sayyaf leader held in Malaysia

Counter-terror task force eyed

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4, (Agencies): Malaysian police arrested a suspected leader and seven members of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf Islamist group in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, a police source said on Sunday.

Police detained Hajar Abdul Mubin — otherwise known as Abu Asrie — in the Wednesday raid, according to the source, who was not authorised to speak to the media on the case.

Hajar, a Filipino, was arrested along with one other Filipino and six Malaysians from the Borneo state of Sabah, which shares a porous maritime border with the Philippines.

The arrests were first reported by the English daily, The Star. The Abu Sayyaf is notorious for bombings, beheadings, extortion and kidnap-forransom in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines.

The arrests were the latest in an ongoing crackdown on militancy by Muslim-majority Malaysia. More than 250 people have been arrested between 2013 and 2016 for suspected militancy linked to Islamic State.

Governments in Southeast Asia have been worried over the possible expansion of Islamic State in the region as battle-hardened militants return home after the collapse of their self-styled caliphate in the Middle East.

Militants loyal to Islamic State seized large parts of Marawi city in the southern Philippines in May. Some 620 militants, 136 soldiers and police and 45 civilians were killed in more than 100 days of fighting.

Mubin

Duterte eyes joint counter-terror task force:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will discuss with Indonesia and Malaysia the possibility of creating a task force to combat Islamic State-inspired militancy, he said on Sunday.

Duterte even expressed willingness to open the borders to Indonesian and Malaysian security forces hunting Islamist fighters. He plans to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minster Najib Razak on the matter.

“We have agreed that we will talk, the three of us. We are just waiting for the right time,” he told reporters.

Asked what could be discussed, he said: “In all probability, it will be a joint ... task force. And I will open my borders to the Malaysian authorities and Indonesian authorities. They’ll be given access.”

Southeast Asian nations have agreed to use spy planes and drones to stem the movement of militants across their borders, as concerns rise over the growing clout of Islamic State in the region.

In June the three nations agreed to pool intelligence and tackle militant financing.

Last November, the Philippines agreed to allow Malaysia and Indonesia to carry out “hot pursuits” in its territorial waters to tackle kidnappings and piracy by Islamist Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Duterte indicated the meeting with Widodo and Najib could take place after the siege of Marawi city in southern Philippines involving militants loyal to Islamic State has been fully resolved.

Police killing of teenager probed:

Philippine authorities said Monday they would investigate allegations police tortured and murdered a second teenager following an earlier killing that sparked the largest street protests so far against President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

Police said they shot and killed Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, as he robbed a taxi driver with a handgun in northern Manila on Aug 17.

The young man’s parents dispute the police account. On Monday the justice ministry ordered an official investigation, said Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.

“The autopsy result appears contrary to the police allegation that he (Arnaiz) had allegedly fought back,” Aguirre told reporters.

A forensic examination by a government agency which provides legal services to the poor found that Arnaiz was tortured and shot dead while handcuffed.

“He was beaten up, his body was full of welts, he had a black eye, gashes as well as handcuff marks,” Public Attorney’s Office chief pathologist Erwin Erfe told reporters, adding that bullet trajectories suggested Arnaiz was shot while kneeling.

Australia defends hardline immigration policy:

Australia said on Sunday it is stopping “undesirables” such as terrorists, paedophiles, organised criminals and drug smugglers from boarding flights to the country, defending its hardline immigration policy that has drawn criticism from rights groups.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said that Australian Border Force Airline Liaison Officers were operating in major transit airports to push those threats “beyond our borders”.

Where other countries “allow people to arrive and then assess the threat then”, the “Australian model” was to bar those considered a threat.

“(Liaison officers) try to identify the threats — particularly given that we’ve got foreign fighters coming back through Southeast Asia and all over — the idea is to stop them getting on planes,” the minister told the Nine Network.

According to media, immigration officials prevented 1,043 passengers from boarding flights to Australia since 2013.

Australia has seen the rise of nationalist, antiimmigration politics with far-right wing parties such as One Nation garnering strong public support, while the popularity of the ruling centre-right government has been languishing.

Support for NZ’s Labour jumps:

Support for New Zealand’s opposition Labour party jumped six points, according to a Newshub poll released on Sunday, showing the centre-left party lags the governing National party ahead of elections but is threatening its decade-long hold on power.

National slipped 1.1 points to 43.3 percent, while Labour hit 39.4 percent, after a change in leadership boosted the party’s chances in the Sept. 23 election.

Support for the nationalist NZ First Party, which either party will likely need to form a coalition government, fell 2.6 points to 6.6 percent.

The New Zealand dollar was largely unchanged after the poll was released, hovering above threemonth lows at $0.7154.