COMMENT Recently, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tabled in Parliament a White Paper on terrorism. This initiative taken by government is a progressive step.

By publishing this paper, the government has shown its conviction that it views terrorism seriously. Najib correctly pointed out that there is a need to have new legislation to curb terrorist-related activities, including terrorist financing.

The arrests of suspected terrorists/sympathisers indicate the threat of the Islamic State (IS) movement is imminent. It has become the biggest threat to our national security.

On Wednesday, heavily armed gunmen murdered more than 12 people in Paris, including the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper, thereby indicating that a terrorist attack can take place anywhere and at any time, even though there is high security alert. This is a very dangerous and irrepressible situation to handle.