Johor Islamic religious affairs committee chairman Fared Khalid said the deaths of constables Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar, 22, and Syafiq Ahmad Said, 24, were considered martyrdom as they were protecting and defending the safety of the country.

“The Johor fatwa committee has decided that both of them are classified as martyrs in the afterlife.

“Their funeral arrangements were completed with the four obligatory rituals, namely bathing, shrouding, funeral prayers, and burying the deceased,” Fared said in a statement today.

He said the committee prayed for the souls of both men to be blessed with mercy, love and Allah’s blessings, and prayed that the police force would remain steadfast in carrying out its duties to protect the country from various threats.

Regarding the handling of the body of the 21-year-old male suspect who was shot dead in the attack, Fared said his remains should be bathed, shrouded and prayed over at the hospital or at his family’s home only, not in a mosque or surau.

According to him, the man’s body should also be buried in a designated cemetery with the grave positioned far from the other graves.

Fared said this measure serves as a reminder to the public not to get involved in or commit acts like him.

“It’s also to express hatred towards his actions, especially the killing of policemen who were protecting the country,” he said.

Earlier, the suspect’s remains were buried at the Kampung Sungai Tiram Muslim cemetery, attended by several villagers and police officers.

In the 2.45am incident on Friday, Azza and Syafiq died after being attacked by a masked man armed with a gun and a machete.

Another policeman, corporal Hasif Roslan, was shot in the incident. He is in stable condition after treatment at the Sultan Ismail Hospital here.

On Saturday, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the man killed in the attack was believed to have acted alone and had no links to any terrorist group.