Malaysia to tighten security for ASEAN summit after Paris attacks

Malaysia today said it will tighten security at all entry points in the country including airports ahead of the upcoming ASEAN summit after the horrific terror attacks in Paris that killed over 120 people.

"We are not only in a state of preparedness but are increasing our strength in terms of manpower, especially for next week when Malaysia hosts the Asean Summit," Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Transport Minister Liow Tong said Malaysia, a Muslim- majority country, has been on high alert most of the time and would continue to do so.

The ASEAN summit, which will take place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from November 18-22, will also see the attendance of leaders from the regional body's dialogue partner countries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Modi's Malaysia visit includes a bilateral visit besides attending the 10th East India Summit after the ASEAN Summit.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said the number of security personnel is being increased to ensure safety.

He assured Malaysians that authorities were closely monitoring intelligence channels to ensure that the country remained safe.

Several Malaysians have been detained in the past who were found to be Islamic State (IS) sympathisers.

Meanwhile, Defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia would strengthen intelligence cooperation with other countries to combat the threat of terrorism.

He said this cooperation was also being done among the 10 ASEAN nations, but Malaysia was making sure that it was fully committed in intelligence-sharing with nations such as the UK, the US and France.

"The Defence Ministry will obtain the full information of the attack from the French authorities. At the same time, Malaysia will continue to strengthen the cooperation in intelligence with several countries in the effort to tackle terrorism," he said here.

"The attack can occur in any country in the world. What happened in Paris proves that the threat of terrorism was present and cannot be taken lightly," he said.

He also revealed that the IS terror group had put several Malaysian leaders on its hit list.

The minister said that he had received a report over how the terror group had targeted known figures in the country.

"I confirmed that IS want to target our leaders including myself but it will not scare us or stop us in fighting terror not only in the country but the region as well.

"The information or threat from IS was made before the joint ASEAN Defence Ministers meeting held at Langkawi in March where all 10 nations agreed to a joint effort in fighting terrorism," Hishammuddin was quoted by state-run Bernama news agency as saying.