Headlines
No jail for Malaysian students returning home from Syria
Kuala Lumpur, May 25
Malaysian nationals with a
student status in Syria need not fear jail terms upon returning if they
were not involved with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Home
Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Monday.
Hamidi reassured
Malaysians in Syria that they could come home, and all they had to do
was cooperate with police for questioning, the Malaysian Star reported.
"Police
will question them, but they will be free to go once proven that they
have had no involvement with militant groups," he said in parliament in
response to concerns raised by an MP regarding the status of these
nationals living in Syria.
The MP had voiced fears over Malaysian
students in Syria who stayed back to finish their studies even after
the government issued a notice calling for their return when the war
began.
Hamidi expressed the hope that the education ministry
would allow the students who had not yet finished their studies to
complete their education at a Malaysian public university instead.
"The
only condition is that the subjects they had taken have credit value,
so they can do a credit transfer to finish their chosen courses here,"
he said.
According to official sources, 63 Malaysians are currently residing in Syria.