A 31-year-old Indonesian man, Ihsan, was charged in the Magistrate's Court in Pontian today with possessing terrorism-related materials, early this month.

The charge was read out by deputy public prosecutor Suhaili Sapun before magistrate Azlan Bohari.

Ihsan was charged with having a mobile phone that contained 196 images and 200 video clips on the Islamic State (IS) militant group and its acts of terrorism.

He allegedly committed the offence in Kampung Parit Abdul Rahman, Benut, Pontian, at 12.05pm on Dec 1.

The charge is under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to seven years or a fine, and forfeiture of the banned materials, upon conviction.

No plea was recorded from the accused, who was unrepresented in court.

The magistrate set Jan 28, 2016, for case re-mention.

On Dec 5, police arrested five individuals including a Rela (People's Volunteer Corps) member, believed to be involved in terrorism activities.

During the operations conducted from Nov 17 until Dec 1 in the Klang Valley, Kelantan and Johor, also arrested (in Johor) was an Indonesian national aged 31, believed to be a cell leader.

The suspect, a mechanic at a lorry workshop, had reportedly pledged allegiance to IS militant leader Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi via Facebook in mid-2014.

– Bernama