The government's immediate duty is to prove the existence of the Kumpulan Malaysian Mujahidin (KMM) as a militant religious group linked international terrorist groups and implicated in murder, mayhem and robberies in the country, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said today.

Otherwise, he said, the 10 people detained under the Internal Security Act for their alleged involvement in the activities of KMM, should be released immediately and unconditionally.

"If the government cannot produce proof to establish the existence of KMM and is not prepared to charge the 10 persons in court in an open trial, they should be released from the ISA incarceration immediately and unconditionally," Lim said in a press statement.

He added that the allegations against the group remain unsubstantiated and the authorities have yet to establish that such a group existed.

"The police had ample time to gather evidence on KMM and there is no reason why it could not establish to the satisfaction of Malaysians the existence of KMM as a militant and terrorist religious group," he said.

Lim also said that the government can be assured of public support for any stern and severe action taken against the existence of such a group as the people are opposed to the use of terrorist or violent tactics to bring about political change in the country's plural society.

"However, the government must discharge the onus of proof about the existence of KMM through a public trial and not by detention-without-trial laws that enable it to launch baseless attacks against the legitimate political parties, which it was wont to do in the past as well as recently," said Lim.

More arrests

Police arrested eight members of the group on Friday. Another two, including Nik Adli Nik Abdul Aziz, the son of Kelantan Mentri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, were arrested on Saturday.

Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai said the detainees were part of the 'Mujahidin' group who is believed to have received military training in Afghanistan.

He added that more may be arrested as investigations showed the group had more than 50 members in Malaysia.

Nine members of the group were linked to a spate of crimes including the murder of Lunas state assembly representative Dr Joe Fernandez, the raid on the Guar Chempedak police station in Kedah, and the bombing of a church and Hindu temple last year.