Restriction Order issued to self-radicalised housewife; self-radicalised Malaysian arrested and deported

A self-radicalised Singaporean, 56-year-old housewife, Hamizah binte Hamzah (Hamizah), has been issued with a Restriction Order (RO) under the ISA, MHA said in a press release.

Separately, in November 2024, 34-year-old self-radicalised Malaysian, Saharuddin bin Saari (Saharuddin), who was working as a cleaner in Singapore, was arrested under the ISA and repatriated to Malaysia.

Hamizah binte Hamzah

Hamizah’s radicalisation was triggered by the ongoing Israel-HAMAS conflict. She supported the Axis of Resistance (AOR), a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations including HAMAS, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (AQB), Hizbollah and the Houthis.

She joined several social media groups that encouraged support for the AOR’s violent operations and developed a hatred for Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), believing they should be eradicated for their actions against Palestinians.

She also had a deep admiration for HAMAS spokesperson Abu Obaidah (Obaidah), and was willing to entertain AOR-linked militants if contacted by them, to further her knowledge of Obaidah.

As Hamizah felt that she did not have the physical prowess and necessary resources to take up arms in the Israel-HAMAS conflict, she showed her support by posting pro-AOR content, including those glorifying armed violence and martyrdom, on her social media accounts.

She would create new accounts whenever her accounts were banned for the violent content she posted.

She also actively participated in pro-AOR social media groups, where she frequently voiced her enmity towards Israel and the IDF, and made violent threats against their supporters. She also encouraged others to engage in armed violence against the IDF.

Hamizah was the sole administrator of several pro-AOR social media groups with membership ranging from 16 to over 1,000. She saw it as her responsibility to ensure that pro-AOR and anti-Israel narratives were actively propagated in them. She would also frequently share the groups’ links with her pro-AOR online contacts in a bid to grow her groups’ memberships.

Hamizah had no attack plans nor intentions to engage in armed violence locally or overseas.

However, her staunch support for the AOR and their violent operations, her willingness to spread propaganda to promote their cause, and incitement of others to engage in armed violence, render her a security concern.

Hamizah’s family members were unaware of her radicalisation. She intentionally tried to keep her extremist views from them, for fear of censure.

Saharuddin bin Saari (Saharuddin)

Saharuddin’s path to radicalisation began in 2014 when he encountered online materials on ISIS’s participation in the Syrian conflict.

Through sustained exposure to pro-ISIS materials, Saharuddin became a staunch ISI supporter by 2017, pledging allegiance to ISIS’s self-declared Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Even after the demise of ISIS’s so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2019, he actively posted materials promoting ISIS and armed jihad on his social media accounts.

Saharuddin aspired to die a martyr performing armed jihad against the perceived enemies of Islam, and fight alongside any group trying to establish an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia.

He also harboured the intention of travelling to Syria to join ISIS since 2015. To this end, he researched online for ways to enter Syria, and sought to establish contact with ISIS militants who could facilitate his entry.

Sometime in 2015-2016, an online contact who identified himself as a Malaysian ISIS fighter, advised Saharuddin to take a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Turkey, and offered to escort Saharuddin from Turkey to Syria by land.

Saharuddin did not proceed with his travel plans primarily as he did not have sufficient funds.

Following HAMAS’s 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, Saharuddin expressed support for HAMAS and AQB, which he viewed as legitimate defenders of Muslims.

He researched online on travel routes to Gaza, but lacked the funds for his travel plans.

Saharuddin had no specific attack plans against Singapore, nor had he radicalised anyone in Singapore.

However, he was willing to undertake acts of violence in Singapore should he perceive Singapore as siding with the enemies of Islam.

ISD had worked closely with the Malaysian Special Branch (MSB) on the investigations into Saharuddin. His Work Pass was cancelled and he was repatriated to Malaysia and handed over to MSB in November 2024 upon the completion of ISD’s investigation.