The Malaysian police have arrested 36 Bangladeshis for their alleged direct involvement in a radical extremist movement centred on extremist beliefs and terrorist ideology.

Malaysian online news portal the Malay Mail, quoting the country’s home minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, reported on Friday that the people were arrested this week.

Saifuddin said the police’s planned security operations started on April 24 with three phases of arrests in Selangor and Johor.

He said that five of the 36 arrestees were identified as being involved in offences relating to terrorism.

The five have been charged at the Sessions Court in Shah Alam and Johor Bahru.

The report, referring to Saifuddin, said that 15 of the arrestees were issued orders for deportation, and the remaining 16 were under further investigation over their involvement in the extremist movement.

‘The Special Branch team’s intelligence and coordinated action revealed that this group brought in extremist beliefs based on the Islamic State ideology into the country,’ the report quoted Saifuddin’s Friday statement as saying.

The minister added that the police had also found that this group had created recruitment cells within their community for the purposes of indoctrination of radical beliefs, collecting funds for terrorist activities and toppling the legitimate government in their country of origin.

‘Any attempts to make Malaysia a base for militant operations or transit centre for extremism movements will be tackled with firm, quick and effective action,’ the report also quoted Saifuddin as saying.

Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia could not be reached for comments over the telephone.

A foreign ministry official in Dhaka told New Age that they were aware of the news.

The Bangladesh mission in Malaysia was initially asked to look into it for further details, the official added.