The police have allegedly arrested a 38-year-old man under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on suspicion that he may be a member of regional militant organisation Jemaah Islamiah, said rights group Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) today.

AIM committee member Badaruddin Ismail said petty trader Khaidir Hadran was detained at approximately 9am yesterday at his home in Temerloh, Pahang.

Khaidir was said to have been taken first to the Felda Tementi police station and then the Kuantan police headquarters, before being transferred to Kuala Lumpur today.

Badaruddin said that, at 3pm today, Khaidir was taken by some 20 police personnel to the home he shares with his second wife in Gombak.

"He was handcuffed and police entered the house to search the premises," said the anti-ISA campaigner who claimed to have witnessed the incident.

Khaidir is said to have eight children with his first wife, while his second wife is expecting their first child.

Arrest unconfirmed

When contacted, a spokesperson at the Bukit Aman police headquarters could not confirm the arrest, saying only that such a matter would be under the purview of the Special Branch.

"We do not have any information at the moment. It is only when the (Special Branch) informs the Inspector-General of Police - and with his instructions - that we can inform the press of any developments," he said.

The alleged arrest came just three weeks after the police detained two religious teachers - a Malaysian and an Indonesian with permanent residence status - in Sabah during a crackdown on suspected JI members.

Aside from the arrests in Borneo, the police also recently held a group of 13 students after they were deported from Pakistan on suspicion that they had participated in militant activities.

Eight of the students were subsequently released while five had their detentions extended for two years under Section 8 of the ISA.

More than 60 alleged JI members are currently in detention under the ISA.