Malaysia, Singapore pledge not to let their guard down over terrorism
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-28 16:47

Malaysia and Singapore on Monday resolved to maintain close cooperation in countering terrorism, saying there was no room for complacency despite their success in arresting scores of suspected militants.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, speaking after a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, S. Jayakumar, said both countries remained "on top of the situation thus far," but would keep working together to exchange intelligence in security issues.

"Our efforts to combat threats of that nature must continue, because when one or two individuals are out of the picture or apprehended, this does not mean that we can take it easy," Najib was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama. "So far we have been successful but that doesn't mean that the threat is over."

Since late 2001, Malaysia, a moderate, predominantly Muslim country, has detained more than 80 suspected Islamic militants accused of membership in the al-Qaida-linked regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Neighboring Singapore has arrested nearly 40 alleged Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists whom it accuses of plotting to blow up the U.S. Embassy, a U.S. naval base and other Western targets.

Regional security officials have also been buoyed by anti-terror successes such as an Indonesian police raid on November 9 that led to the death of Malaysian citizen Azahari bin Husin, who was allegedly one of Jemaah Islamiyah's main leaders.

Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for numerous attacks, including two on Indonesia's resort island of Bali _ this year and in 2002 _ that killed a total of more than 220 people.

Jayakumar said Singapore's security agencies were satisfied with their level of cooperation with Malaysia, but warned that Southeast Asia faces "many new challenges in cross-border crimes such as drugs, international terrorism and issues of extremism."

Najib added that the neighbors realize terrorism is a "multifaceted, multidimensional" problem that would require a long time to solve.