Myanmar authorities have launched an investigation into a reported threat by the Islamic State group to kill State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, state authorities say.
Media reports say the threat was communicated in a two-page letter titled “IS Ancaman (IS Threat)” sent to the Nilai police in Negeri Semblian, one of Malaysia’s 13 states that lies on the western coast of the country.
According to the Malaysiakini news website, the letter also threatened Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and his deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, along with the country’s attorney general, Mohamed Apandi, and inspector general of police Khalid Abu Bakar.
Quoting the Malaysian Chinese-language China Press newspaper, the website reported that the letter contained photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi and the Malaysian leaders.
Zaw Htay, spokesperson for Myanmar’s president, told VOA that although Myanmar authorities have not received any official notification from Malaysian authorities, the government is analyzing and investigating the credibility and reliability of the sources.
The spokesperson added that security measures for Aung San Suu Kyi are being taken seriously and Myanmar authorities will not underestimate such security threats.
Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to visit Malaysia at the invitation of Prime Minister Razak. A date for the visit has not been announced yet.
IS has been trying to establish a presence in parts of East Asia. Last June, a Malaysian fighter in Syria was featured in an IS propaganda video, threatening security personnel, according to media reports.
Myanmar, a Buddhist majority country, had been under military rule. Last year, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy won an absolute majority in the country’s first openly contested elections since 1990.