The government should investigate the root cause of the sudden trend of Islamic militancy that is emerging in the country and identify ways to overcome this phenomenon, said Parti Rakyat Malaysia president today.

Dr Syed Husin Ali said the government must explore why many Malay Malaysians, including those from the educated group, have resorted to join groups such as Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia to be involved in militant activities aimed at toppling the government.

"Why is it that these people have lost faith in the peaceful legal struggle?" asked Syed Husin in a statement.

He also said the government should not detain those involved with the KMM under the Internal Security Act, but prosecute them in open court by providing sufficient evidence.

He added that resorting to detaining these suspects under the ISA will not solve the problems of militancy in the country.

"Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claims that he has full proof that the detained KMM members have international links and are out to overthrow the government by force," said Syed Husin.

Bring detainees to open court

The veteran politician added that even the police had said that they believe KMM had ties with the Osama bin Laden led al-Qaeda network of terrorists to set up Islamic states in this region.

"If the police have proof, then they should immediately bring those detained under the ISA before an open and independent court," said Syed Husin.

He was referring to the arrest of 23 KMM members under the ISA since last December for their plot to topple the government. The first group of 13 were arrested between Dec 9 last year and Jan 3 this year and the second group of 10 from Jan 5 to Jan 21.

The police announced the arrest of the second group yesterday and said that there were still about 200 KMM members at large. The group is said to have links in Indonesia, Singapore and southern Philippines.