At a press conference, Saifuddin said based on checks by police, none of the people linked to the Palestine aid group, Ops Ihsan, were involved in terror activities.

“We have screened 359 people from 53 NGOs (involved with Ops Ihsan). Checks showed they are not linked to terror activities,” he told reporters here.

On Saturday, Ops Ihsan secretariat chairman Jismi Johari said he was ordered by the foreign ministry not to work with the three men any more.

Jismi reportedly said the foreign ministry had notified him of the matter through a letter dated Feb 15.

Saifuddin said it was common for people to be on the wanted lists of certain countries.

He said he was also aware of the move by the US to introduce laws against organisations funding Hamas, which it has classified as a terror group.

He said Malaysia had its own vetting mechanism to identify terrorists.

Saifuddin said Malaysia, as a sovereign country, had its own laws and agencies to conduct screening.

On another matter, he said any claims of impropriety against Algerian preacher Mawla Amin al-Hassani should be investigated by the religious authorities of the state concerned.

Saifuddin said the preacher, whose real name is Amin Ouradj, had travelled to Malaysia on a 90-day social visit pass, using a French passport.

“If his activities were religious in nature, then the state authorities should be involved because they are the authority on such matters.

“We will work with them if he is found to have contravened other laws,” Saifuddin said.

The preacher had allegedly claimed he was a descendant of Prophet Muhammad during his visit to Malaysia. Harian Metro, in a special investigation, said this was a false claim.

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