Undergraduates in the country must play a vital role to prevent the Daesh militant ideology from spreading at unversities and its campuses.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said besides in the campus itself, the students must also take their own approach and initiatives in spreading words about the true teachings of Islam to the society, including the non-Muslims.

"This Daesh (militant) threat is real. Do not take it lightly. The undergraduates must play their roles to correct the public's perception on Islam as it is a peace-loving religion and do not condone terrorism.

"We do not want undergraduates to be involved with Daesh. They must take this responsibility in telling and spreading to the public, including using social media on the true teachings of Islam and Daesh (militant) threat," he said.

He told reporters this after launching the national-level Higher Learning Institution Muslims Undergraduates Leadership Convention 2016 opening ceremony at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) here, last night.

Idris said the ministry was now looking at the issue seriously and would continue to monitor to ensure no students were involved in Daesh militants.

Also present was UniSZA vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Zubaidi Abdul Latif.