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IGP: No evidence French couple entered country

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no evidence that Amedy Coulibaly – who was shot dead by French police – and Hayat Boumeddiene had entered Malaysia previously, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

“Based on the names and passport numbers obtained, there was no trace of either individual ever entering Malaysia,” he said when contacted yesterday.

He was commenting on foreign media reports which claimed that the Paris attack couple had once travelled to Malaysia.

The reports did not give specific dates as to when they visited Malaysia but quoted sources as saying that they had been to Malaysia on a holiday.

He urged the foreign media outlets to reveal the places the two had visited.

“I bet they have also visited other main cities of the world,” he added.

The foreign reports quoted neighbours as saying that the pair were quiet, respectful and had even gone on a holiday to Malaysia together.

Boumeddiene is now on the run after her husband killed a policewoman and four hostages in a kosher bakery and was shot dead by policemen.

Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi were also killed as they tried to fight their way out of a printing plant.

Khalid also brushed off accusations that he was taking advantage of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris to make a case for the Sedition Act in Malaysia.

He said such attacks could happen here and that “we must be ready for it legally”.

“The people must also be reminded not to take for granted the peace in the country and be mindful of what they say and act so as not to jeopardise it,” he said.

Yesterday, Khalid posted a series of tweets, suggesting that laws like the Sedition Act could have prevented a similar incident in Malaysia.

“Paris attack – laws like the Sedition Act will surely help @PDRMsia nip the problem in the bud before it escalates,” he tweeted.

The police force, he wrote, would not condone religious instigators.

Later, he tweeted that police would probe the remarks made by Kampar MP Dr Ko Chung Sen on the Islamic Civilisation subject in public universities, and Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen who accused the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) of promoting extre-mism.