Najib Abdul Razak wants the people to place confidence in the authorities rather than be influenced by the opposition tactics on the issue over Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militants.

NONE The Prime Minister ( left ) said the matter was a reality and not merely a creation to divert the people's attention as alleged by the opposition.

"The issue (on JI militants) is a national security matter and certainly the government had known about the involvement of senior lecturers in local universities in the militants' activities.

"That's why we must believe and have confidence that the matter is a threat and we leave it to the authorities because they, especially the police and intelligence personnel, certainly have much experience in tackling the threat from the JI and militant groups," he said when asked on the level of national security following the disclosure on the JI threat at the media conference at

the Bagan Datoh Town Weekly Market Site, Perak, today.

Also present were Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is

also the Member of Parliament for Bagan Datoh and Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir.

Speaking to reporters after launching the NGV Tech Sdn Bhd Shipyard Construction Project in conjunction with his working visit to the Bagan Datoh Parliamentary constituency, Najib said based on the effectiveness of the security forces in tackling terrorism, the government could prevent fatal incidents and destruction to properties.

He said all the measures taken were aimed at preventing undesired incidents as the government did not want to be blamed for not taking proactive measures.

On Thursday, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was reported as

saying that the issue on the JI was merely an excuse by the BN to

divert attention from the other major issues that we raised currently.

- Bernama