Speaking on the sidelines of an event at Kolej Damansara Utama, Hishammuddin said the situation in Syria needed to be monitored closely, especially since Malaysian militants had joined extremist groups in the Middle East.

“My fear is that when the battle for Aleppo is over, Islamic State militants and militants from other groups will run to South East Asia. Just yesterday it was reported that a Malaysian suicide bomber blew himself up in Syria. Imagine if some of them want to return to Malaysia.”

Hishammuddin was referring to a report by New Straits Times that Malaysian militant Hasan Zakaria, 25, carried out a suicide bomb attack in a vehicle with explosives, killing him and 14 Syrian soldiers in Ain Issa, Syria on Nov 15.

When asked whether Malaysia plans to accept more Syrian refugees now that the Syrian regime led by Bashar Assad was taking back control of the country from rebels, Hishammuddin said this would depend on the relevant ministry.

He added that he had not yet discussed this with Prime Minister Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Earlier this week, the Bashar regime, backed by Russia, regained control of Aleppo which had been held by rebels for a number of years since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.