'I'm not afraid of Daish's kidnap threats' - Hishammuddin

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was neither afraid of nor scared by the reported attempts by the Daish militant group to kidnap him last year.

However, the Defence Minister said the threats posed by the militant group could not be viewed lightly.

"I'm not scared, it's not me as an individual (that they're after), but the post (of defence minister) that I hold.

"Whatever it is, I leave it to the authorities to ensure the safety of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as well as other Cabinet ministers," he told reporters after visiting Armed Forces Family Housing area at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base here today.

Hishammuddin said this in response to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's disclosure at the Dewan Rakyat today that the nation's security forces had succeeded in curbing and thwarting several attempts by the Daish militant group to kidnap the country's leaders, including the prime minister.

Ahmad Zahid revealed that apart from the prime minister, he himself and Hishammuddin had also been the targets.

The Deputy Prime Minister said besides the plot to kidnap, the group also planned attacks on places of worship and public places, steal firearms from army camps, as well as robbing cash to finance their activities.

As such, Hishammuddin gave assurance that all military camps, especially those with firearms store, would be tightly controlled to prevent trespassing by the so-called militants.

He said the ministry would also foster closer cooperation with the security forces in other countries, especially in terms of intelligence-sharing, to ensure security in their respective countries.