THE Malaysian High Court has sentenced three members of a Muslim cult to death for planning a "holy war" to topple Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Sixteen other members of the Al'Maunah group also found guilty of treason were given life sentences for their attempt to set up an Islamic state in Malaysia.
Announcing his decision Judge Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin said his judgement was made in the national interest.
"In passing this sentence I have taken into consideration both the public interest and the interests of the accused and have decided that public interest exceeds that of the accused. I found all of the accused to be involved in realising the mission of the Al'Maunah to topple the current government by force in the name of jihad," he said.
The martial arts cult taught members they were invulnerable to bullets. In July 2000, some cult members disguised themselves as soldiers and stole more than 100 weapons from two military armouries.
They then retreated to a jungle hideout where they broadcast calls over army radio for Mahathir to quit. The group surrendered after four days during which they murdered a policeman and a soldier they had held hostage.
Judge Zulkefli imposed the death sentence on the leader of the cult, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, along with two of his followers, Zahit Muslim and Jamaludin Darus.
The formal charge against the group was of "waging war" against the king, but the court was told during the months of evidence that the group planned a "holy war" to oust Mahathir and set up an Islamic state.