The man at the centre of the media storm over the allegations of links between terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah and Wahhabism has today lodged a police report against deputy higher education minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

NONE Zamihan Mat Zain (left), who is deputy director at Institut Latihan Islam Malaysia - run by government religious agency Jakim - has also lodged a second report calling for an investigation on how the briefing on JI at a hotel in Sepang on Monday night was leaked to the press.

The two reports were made at the Bangi police station this evening.

Zamihan, who maintained his innocence after making his police reports, said that Saifuddin's statements in Parliament had "affected his credibility as a civil servant".

"Why spark a new polemic when we can discuss internally first?" Zamihan asked when contacted by Malaysiakini .

Saifuddin had fingered Zamihan as the man who had identified several individuals as Wahhabists, and that Zamihan had a "personal issue" with one of those named.

Zamihan insisted that the briefing was supposed to be a private, closed-door meeting.

"The media was not supposed to know about it," he said.

Police 'caught in the middle'

The briefing, attended by senior police officers as well as top university administrators, including vice-chancellors and heads of university security departments, was told that JI had allegedly originated from Wahhabism.

An exclusive Malaysiakini report said Zamihan then pointed out several local personalities, whom he claimed had "Wahhabi leanings", including former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, former Perlis MB Shahidan Kassim, current Perlis mufti Juanda Jaya and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Meanwhile, the police are keeping silent on the briefing, which they purportedly organised.

Asked about Zamihan's briefing, which has triggered an outrage and fears of a witch-hunt, federal special operations force (operation/terrorism) director Fuzi Haron refused to be dragged into the matter.

"It is not (Zamihan's) fault. He has done his research. And it is up to the people on how to interpret it," he said when contacted.

"We know that a lot of people are unhappy (about the briefing). I know (and) I also don't want to get caught in the middle of this. I don't want to get into trouble lah ," said Fuzi.

Asked whether Zamihan's "findings" would be used as the basis for police in combatting terrorism, Fuzi said: "I cannot comment on it. This is a very sensitive matter."

Wahhabism 'frowned upon'

All of those purportedly named by Zamihan have vehemently denied his allegations of them belonging to the Wahhabi sect, with some threatening lawsuits .

NONE However, Zamihan has denied naming them, except for Mohd Asri ( right ), saying he drew the conclusion from the vocal cleric's book Bid'ah: Istilah yang disalah faham i.

In the meantime, several sources who had attended the briefing have re-confirmed with Malaysiakini that Zamihan had indeed identified them.

"Even if he did not verbalise it, he definitely mentioned them in his slide presentation," said one of the sources.

Wahhabism - a conservative and literalist school of Islamic thought that originated in the Arabian peninsula in the 18th century - is not banned in Malaysia.

However, it is "not encouraged" as it advocates purging from Malaysia's mainly Shafii school Islamic practices that did not exist during the time of Prophet Muhammad.

Also present at the briefing, were deputy inspector-general of police Ismail Omar and Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The ministry, meanwhile, said it has not " drawn any conclusions " from the briefing.

The alert on JI heightened when inspector-general of police Musa Hassan announced that 10 alleged foreign militants, who had been arrested and deported early this year, had also been on a recruitment drive for impressionable university students.

It was also reported that the group had plotted to blow up the Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang and the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam temple at Batu Caves.