Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the deradicalisation techniques adopted by Malaysia in its fight against militants have been used in US-run detention facility on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He said the US was using these techniques because Malaysia had been battling terrorism since 1948 during the communist insurgency.

Thi was followed by the rise of jihadists and other militants like the Malaysian Militant Group (KMM), al-Qaeda and al-Maunah.

“A dossier on these deradicalisation techniques has been printed by the Home Ministry and distributed to countries which face similar threats,” Zahid said during his speech at the Umno Jerai annual general meeting in Gurun, Kedah today.

“We have to wipe out such militant activities before they spread to the whole country. The threat of the Islamic State (IS) is real; there were plans to carry out bombings in the country but our police were quick and efficient to foil their attempts,” Zahid said to applause from the Umno delegates.

He said that police were justified in arresting suspected terrorists before they could carry out their militant activities.

“We do not want things to happen and then only act.”

He praised the police for acting to prevent terrorist activities, saying he was committed to fighting it.

“There's nothing in the Quran or Hadith that says blowing up yourself is an act of mati shahid (matyrdom), there is no such saying; those who are involved in it are not following the right path,” Zahid said.

He said that 90 percent of the studies carried out by the police showed that militant groups like IS did not go through proper formal education as Muslims.

“The members of these groups only want a short-cut to heaven; they had no proper education; they were influenced by friends, social media and outsiders who promised women if they were to mati shahid,” he added.

He urged ulama and Islamic scholars to assist in deradicalising students who were influenced by such groups.

“I am willing to work with the National Islamic Council and the police to wipe out these militants before they spread to the whole country,” he said.