The man, 21,was one of three people arrested in operations conducted in Perak, Selangor and Melaka from Sept 8 to Sept 10. He had allegedly been told how to assemble explosive devices and had tried to produce a bomb.
Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement that the jobless man was arrested on Sept 8 in Bagan Serai, Perak, and that he had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State earlier this year.
“The suspect also admitted that he has been taught by Dr Mahmud Ahmad, (Malaysia’s most wanted terrorist), and a Saudi Arabian bomb expert on how to produce Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) on a large scale. He has tried to produce the bomb three times.
“The suspect also received instruction from another senior Malaysian IS fighter in Syria to purchase a pistol, M-16 and AK-47 assault rifles along with a hand grenade from a neighbouring country and to launch an attack on non-Muslims and their places of worship,” he said.
Fuzi said police also seized chemical materials believed kept for use to produce the IEDs.
On Sept 10, police detained a 38-year-old cendol seller in Melaka who was actively promoting IS.
“The suspect planned to join militants in the southern Philippines and Rakhine in Myanmar,” said Fuzi.
Police arrested a third man, a bus driver, 41, in Petaling Jaya on Sept 10. He was planning to travel to Syria at the end of the year to join IS.