KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has vowed that Malaysia will continue to crack down on any trace of the group called Gulenist Terror Organisation (Feto) here, as a show of support towards the Turkish government.
In an exclusive interview with Turkish news agency Anadolu, Dr Mahathir said it is against Putrajaya’s policy to allow Malaysia to be used as a base for any “insurrection”.
“Malaysia doesn’t support insurrection in any country. It is our policy not to be used as a base for action taken against other countries.
“It is for that reason that when we find that there are some attempts to make use of Malaysia as a base for dissent against the Turkish government, we have taken actions to close these schools,” he was quoted saying.
Malaysia had previously extradited wanted men by the Turkish government for suspected involvement with Feto, what Ankara claimed is a group led by US-based exile preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Ipoh-based school principal Turgay Karaman was abducted by five men just before he was due to testify as a witness in a criminal case, and on the same day Ihsan Aslan was reported missing by his wife.
They were visiting Turkish academic Ismet Ozcelik who had been charged for allegedly obstructing Immigration Department officers from carrying out their duty.
Malaysian police later said that Turgay and Ihsan were taken in by police officers, and three were then deported back home.
Feto is gazetted as a terror group, but only by Turkey and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation — of which Malaysia is a member.
Long hunted and persecuted by Ankara, Gulen has been accused of masterminding the failed July 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyin Erdogan.
