KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 15): The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) said it was hard to curb the spread of militant ideas by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) via the Internet despite efforts to explain the teachings of true Islam to the community.

Its director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said his department and 38 other agencies had been conducting talks and explanations nationwide, on the true meaning of jihad in Islam.

“So far at these functions, they responded well on Islam's stand on the issue.

“It is only when they go online, they will be influenced. It is difficult for us to control.

“I believe our security personnel also have their procedures to control (the spread)," said Othman today, after attending the announcement for the results of Kafa class assessment test (UPKK) 2015 in Putrajaya.

Othman said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was concern over the matter, had instructed Jakim to head the efforts to explain to the people on the dangers of Isis.

He said as of last year, the religious body had reached out to more than a million people in the country.

“Our target was a million people but we managed to reach out to more, through face-to-face meetings, via imams where they explain in mosques, and invitation to seminars.

“We hope the message will get across to the people instead of them believing the wrong interpretation of jihad and such,” he said.

He added that similar explanations have also been carried out at religious schools and madrasah across the country, touching on the spread of Syiah and Wahabi doctrine.

“We are worried by this Isis threat. However, we are glad to see that the authorities are already acting on it," he said.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein previously confirmed two suicide bombers involved in attacks in Iraq and Syria recently were Malaysians.

“There had been one Malaysian prior and now two more involved in bomb attacks, making the total of three.

“They not only do not fear death but intend to do something most people would not think of doing," Hishammuddin had said, without elaborating on the identities of the two suicide bombers.

In a latest incident in Indonesia yesterday, at least six people including three policemen were reported killed in a series of bomb blasts in the vicinity of the Sarinah Mall in Jakarta.

Indonesian Police Public Relations chief Anton Charliyan said several armed men, who were also carrying grenades, had launched the attack near the Starbucks cafe in Jalan MH Thamrin.

News agency AFP reported that Isis had issued a cryptic warning before the attacks, but local police has yet to determine which group had carried out the attacks.