PUTRAJAYA: THE new anti-terror law that will soon be drafted will help police combat the rising militant threat in the country.

Lauding the government’s move to introduce the new law, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said it was timely for the country to have a special law to deal with terrorism.

“There is a need for a special law to tackle terrorism in the country and this law will also give police the power to tackle such threats,” he said yesterday, after officiating the Royal Malaysia Police’s government green procurement seminar.

Khalid said the new law could safeguard Malaysians and bolster public security from terrorism threats, especially those from Islamic State (IS) group.

Saying that many countries had drafted anti-terror laws to combat terrorism, he said that it was apt for Malaysia to draft such a law as a prime move to address the threat posed by terrorism.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had tabled a White Paper, titled “Addressing the Islamic State Threat”, in Parliament and said one of the moves to address the issue was to draft a new anti-terror law.

The White Paper also contained a proposal to strengthen existing security laws, such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) and Penal Code, to counter threats posed by terrorists.

Khalid said police were also concerned about threats posed by Malaysians returning from Syria and Iraq after being recruited as foreign fighters to take part in wars there.

“Police are worried about their return and how it will threaten national security and, therefore, we need this new tool (the new law) to give us more power in handling these threats.”

Khalid said police were aware of the whereabouts of the militants and were constantly monitoring them and their activities.

He reiterated that the new anti-terror law would be a new tool for police to deal with this threat effectively as Sosma and Poca were inadequate.

-NST