The alleged assault on Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Malaysia Ibrahim Ansar is an isolated case of political differences, and not terrorism, said Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

“It (the assault) is an isolated case of the political situation in Sri Lanka that is brought here in Malaysia.

“It has nothing to do with terrorism in Sri Lanka. That is a different thing.

“We have caught LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) sympathisers in Malaysia before.

“But this assault case is different and related to political differences that are brought here,” said the Deputy Home Minister.

Nur Jazlan, however, did not elaborate on the identities of the perpetrators of the assault.

On Monday, police said five people had been arrested over the assault, which occurred at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The case is being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry in a statement has condemned the attack on its High Commissioner.

Nur Jazlan said the matter is being handled “very seriously” as it could affect diplomatic relations.

“We are taking serious action against the perpetrators of the assault. We want to make sure it does not have impact on Malaysia.

“We do not want to be seen as meddling into the internal affairs of Sri Lanka,” he said.

About 100 people gathered in Kuala Lumpur last week to protest the presence of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was attending an international conference here.

(The Star)