Police have identified a Selangor housewife who has been arrested for attempting to attack a polling centre in Puchong during the 14th general election as the country's first female Islamic State (IS) cell leader.

The principal assistant director of Bukit Aman's Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, confirmed this to Utusan Malaysia yesterday.

“We see this as a result of IS tactics in countries like Indonesia, where women are sent to the frontlines. Previously, women (in Malaysia) would only financially support their husbands to join IS.

“Therefore, monitoring and prevention need to be done continuously to ensure this trend does not grow in the country.

“Since 2012, 43 women in the country have been arrested on suspicion of involvement with IS,” Ayob Khan was quoted as saying after an event in Selayang.

The 51-year-old mother of two had attempted to recruit other individuals, including women, online through Facebook as well as a WhatsApp chat group named “Kumpulan Makan-Makan Kak Nor” (Kak Nor’s Eating Group), named as such in order to escape suspicion.

The woman had been arrested on May 9 over her plan to drive a car over non-Muslim voters, and another bid to drive a car filled with gas cylinders into non-Muslim places of worship.

Ayob Khan said that two other men were also arrested, in Johor on Monday this week (July 16), over suspicion they had acted as accomplices to the arrested woman.