Cops in Ulu Tiram attack prove training module is effective, says Saifuddin

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today said the current training module for new police recruits is effective to produce personnel capable of handling challenging situations such as the attack on the Ulu Tiram station last month.

Addressing police cadets and senior officers gathered at the Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur to honour their colleagues involved in the pre-dawn assault, Saifuddin credited those involved in the critical moment for their bravery, commitment and skills.

“This is a signal that our training module is capable of producing police personnel with the ability to manage a critical situation with extraordinary maturity.

“The training module is just like a real operation, to help them familiarise, and this produced competent graduates,” he said.

The 22-year-old suspect had killed two police officers and injured another officer before he was shot dead.

Saifuddin witnessed a ceremony to award the two slain officers - Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar, 22, and Muhamad Syafiq Ahmad Said, 24 - with a posthumous promotion to the rank of corporal.

The duo’s family members were also present to receive the award, as well as financial compensation amounting to over RM200,000 each.

Three other personnel from Ulu Tiram station - Mohd Hasif Roslan, Mohd Khairul Azhar Abbi Paisa and Muhammad Aznel Salleh - were also promoted to a higher rank.

‘Islam teaches moderation’

Reflecting on the incident, Saifuddin noted that Islam teaches its followers moderation and rejects violent acts of terror.

“So the act of attacking a security personnel in a country where its leaders and majority citizens are Muslims, together with non-Muslims, the attack is an extremist act indefensible even from a religious perspective,” he stressed.

Following the incident, Saifuddin today said police have a duty to act if it was found there are segments of society who “hijacked the true meaning of Islam.”

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain in his first statement on the incident had linked the suspect to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group but later clarified that the suspect’s father was a member of the banned organisation.

Two students suspected of acting as accomplices were arrested and later released, but five of the suspect’s family members remained in detention without trial under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

Since then, Jemaah Islamiyah founder Abu Bakar Bashir has urged Muslim youths to stay away from committing acts of violence and killings in the name of Islam.

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