KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry is prepared to impose foreign visa requirement on visitors from Middle Eastern countries as proposed by the National Security Council (NSC) to curb IS militant threats in Malaysia.

Its deputy minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said to date the NSC had not submitted the proposal to the ministry, but the ministry was prepared to implement the move upon instructions from the council.

“That (visa) is under NSC’s jurisdiction. So far the ministry has not received any directives. We will act as soon as we get the directive,” he said Sunday.

Nur Jazlan added that the ministry would leave it to the NSC to decide which Middle Eastern countries came under the move.

NSC secretary Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad Saturday had proposed that the government imposed visa requirement on citizens from Middle Eastern countries to curb IS militant activities in Malaysia.

He said such a move was important to monitor entry of individuals involved in militant activities.

He said so far Malaysia had imposed visa requirement on 34 of 201 countries mainly in the African continent. - Bernama