Police have arrested two men for suspected involvement in the Islamic State militant group.

In a statement today, inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the suspects, a Malaysian and an Indonesian, were nabbed on Dec 23 last year, and Jan 17, respectively.

"The first suspect, a 25-year-old Malaysian, was arrested in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on Dec 23, 2017. He worked as a teacher in a private religious school in Subang Jaya.

"He was previously held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) on Nov 9, 2015, and was just released from an 18-month jail sentence on Nov 9, 2016," he said.

Fuzi added, however, that the imprisonment did not deter the suspect, as he then became an active member of IS.

"The suspect was planning to launch attacks on entertainment centres in the Klang Valley, and had also planned to rob, kidnap or kill non-Muslims, based on his understanding that non-Muslims in Malaysia are infidels, are hence, it is halal to 'shed their blood'.

According to Fuzi, the suspect also actively promoted Salafi jihadist ideology on his Facebook in order to attract new IS members.

The suspect was also found to be in contact with former members of IS and Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM).

The second arrest involves a 23-year-old Indonesian construction worker.

The suspect was planning to launch attacks on the Bukit Aman police headquarters, as well as the Travers police station, to seize firearms from armouries, as well as launch street attacks against Buddhist monks.

"The suspect had also planned to steal firearms from other police stations and army camps, to be used in attacks in Malaysia and Indonesia.

"In November last year, the suspect went on a surveillance run in Jalan Pudu, armed with a knife, hoping to come across any Buddhist monks, in retaliation to the massacre of Rohingya in Myanmar.

"His attempt failed and police have seized the knife mentioned when his arrest was made in Kuala Lumpur," said Fuzi.