The arrest of two foreign students of Al-Madinah International University (Mediu) recently was on suspicion of being involved with terrorist activity and had nothing to do with what was taught at the university, its Deputy Rector of Foreign Affairs Dr Ab Ghani Mohamad said.
He said it was the first arrest involving students of the university.
“Our syllabi are recognised by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)... Mediu has never practised or taught any form of extremism or deviationist teachings.
“Our administration, lecturers and students are free of any criminal records,” he told Bernama when met in Shah Alam today.
He said the two international students who were arrested were a third-year student of the Bachelor in Islamic Studies (Fiqh and Usul Fiqh), and a second-year student of the Bachelor in the Science of Al-Quran.
He said the families of both the male students had been informed of their arrest on Nov 3 and they had since been deported to their respective country of origin.
Ab Ghani said that following the case, the university had stepped up its screening of new students by requiring them to state in their application forms the sponsors for their studies, countries they had been to and to state their involvement with terrorist groups, if any.
The information would be updated from time to time and the students would also be required to sign an oath to abide by the laws of Malaysia and Mediu regulations, he added.
He said the university currently had an enrolment of 1,280 students from 43 countries, with the majority from Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Yesterday, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar announced that seven men, including four foreigners who were suspected to be involved in terrorist activities, were arrested at several locations in the country between Nov 3 and Dec 16 this year.
He said the suspects, aged between 20 and 35, and included two Mediu students, were arrested by the Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in Johor, Sabah, Malacca and Selangor.
- Bernama
