(April 11): A senior leader of Malaysia’s Islamist party said he was under state surveillance and his phone was tapped after he was flagged for travel control in the country’s border systems, a claim which the government downplayed.

Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the vice-president of Malaysia’s biggest opposition party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia or PAS, said the surveillance on him was a “blatant misuse of government resources as a political weapon,” according to a statement on Thursday.

Samsuri is a member of Parliament and menteri besar of Terengganu, an east coast state which PAS controls. He’s been touted as a potential prime minister candidate by Malaysia’s longest-serving premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which would be a first for the Islamist party.

In response, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said he too and all of the country’s top leaders are flagged in the border control system through the so-called travel control office/order or TCO, Malay Mail reported.

Malaysia’s Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution earlier denied the state was placing additional surveillance on Samsuri beyond the security detail already accorded to the latter as a state chief minister, according to a report in Free Malaysia Today.

All “VVIPs” in the country were under surveillance for security reasons, Saifuddin was quoted as saying. He also denied Samsuri’s phone was being tapped.

“I was stopped and pulled aside on hold,” Samsuri said regarding his movements in and out of Malaysia’s borders since the last quarter of 2024. He said additional clearance was needed before he was allowed to cross the border. “Is my phone tapped? Of course,” he said.

Samsuri said he was being followed everywhere, even for his personal matters, and that he was placed under surveillance to “ease the paranoia of some people.”

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