He added that the authorities remain vigilant.
“We believe that al-Baghdadi’s death will open up another chapter in IS’ terror operations. After losing much of its territory in Syria and Iraq, IS is looking for a new base.
“There are also growing threats from returning foreign terrorist fighters, online radicalisation, and lone-wolf attacks,” he said at the Plenary Session of 13th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (13th AMMTC) and related meetings in Bangkok today.
The 13th AMMTC is a platform to discuss transnational crime matters, including arms smuggling, terrorism, money laundering, sea piracy, people smuggling, trafficking in persons, international economic crime, cybercrime, illicit drug trafficking and the trafficking of wildlife and timber.
Muhyiddin also said Malaysia has taken steps to fully utilise the Interpol database on stolen and lost travel documents to screen incoming travellers for criminals or terrorists entering the country.
He said Malaysia, through the establishment of the Counter-Messaging Centre to monitor and disrupt online radicalisation carried out on social media platforms, had made many arrests and pre-empted potential attacks.
“Over the past six years, the police have successfully foiled 25 attempts by IS to carry out attacks in Malaysia and arrested 512 suspects involved in IS-linked activities,” he said.
He also said Malaysia has taken other measures, including launching the Malaysia Financial Intelligence Network, which is a public-private partnership between the Financial Intelligence Unit, the police and financial institutions.
“This network will enable an intelligence-led approach that will improve the submission of suspicious transaction reports for necessary investigations and prosecution,” he said.
On combating the smuggling and trafficking of people, Muhyiddin reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to bringing to justice the perpetrators involved in the human trafficking camp in Wang Kelian at the Malaysia-Thai border.
The issue made headlines in May 2015 when police discovered 139 graves and 106 bodies as well as 29 illegal immigrant detention camps in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, a few hundred metres from the Malaysia-Thai border in Wang Kelian.
Muhyiddin, who also raised concerns over the Rohingya crisis, said the violence in Rakhine state had driven refugees into neighbouring countries.
“We call for the crisis in Rakhine state to be resolved. Give the Rohingya their rights, improve conditions for all communities in Rakhine and let the Rohingya return to their home in Rakhine state in peace,” he said.
On transnational crime, meanwhile, he said Malaysia is fully committed to supporting measures to combat such acts at the national, regional and international level.