This is because they have the potential to be involved in radical and extremist activities if the matter is not addressed immediately, said Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division (E8) principal assistant director Normah Ishak.

She said police took proactive measures by getting close to such people as an early step to ensure they would not get involved with extremist groups.

“In Malaysia, it is not an offence for an individual to be radical, but it is the starting point of being an extremist.

“So, we take preventive measures from the beginning by intervening and ‘neutralising’ these identified people.

“We took preventive action in a few cases last year and two early this year, involving those in their 20s,” she said in a talk at a workshop on the role of the media in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and radicalisation here.

Prisons deputy director (Radical and High-Risk Detainees/Prisoners Division) Wan Abdul Rahmad Wan Yaman said as of March 30, 55 detainees had been placed at the prison, with one of them being detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota).

According to him, the radical detainees are placed in a separate building and they will be required to undergo a human development programme involving four elements — behaviour, skills, knowledge and spiritual — conducted by the prisons department.

He said the prisons were equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor their movements and behaviour, especially during their meetings with family members and friends.