PARLIAMENT Malaysian students returning from Syria will be investigated to clear them of having any links with terrorism group Islamic State (IS), Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

"They will be summoned for their statements," he said to an  additional question raised by Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani) in Parliament during Question Time.

Johari said numerous Malaysian students who were studying in Syria feared coming back home as they heard they would be investigated and possibly detained.

"They dare not to come back, but if they stay longer in Syria, there's worry that they might be recruited by IS," the PKR whip said.

Zahid ( photo ) said the Malaysian students would be investigated by police, much like how seven Malaysians who came recently from Syria were questioned.

Currently, there are 63 Malaysians with the IS in Syria including four children aged one to four years, eight females aged 11 to 30 years and 51 male adults.

The minister explained police investigations weren't meant to 'punish' the students and they would be free to go if they weren't involved in any illegal activities.

"The government is not cruel... if they are not involved in anything, the government will not detain them for a long time," he said.

Seven Malaysians who came back from Syria have been investigated, Zahid said, adding that one of them was former Internal Security Act detainee, while another is still at large.
 
The police force is trained to deal with the IS threat and is able to monitor the social media, through which the IS has thus far recruited 75 percent of the Malaysians members, he said.
 
Six out of 107 Malaysians detained for allegedly involved in IS were former Internal Security Act detainees, Zahid added.