Two Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturers and two permanent residents were among 10 Kumpulan Militan Malaysia members arrested under the Internal Security Act.
This brings the total number of alleged KMM militants detained under the ISAQ to 23. More arrests are expected as investigation continue on the KMM, believed to have about 200 members.
Sixteen Malaysians, four Indonesian permanent residents and three Singaporean permanent residents are among the 23 detained.
Police provided the following breakdown of the 23 detained:
* 13 are local graduates while six studied overseas; and,
* there are 13 traders, three government servants, three UTM lecturers, two taxi drivers, one factory operator and one private religious school teacher.
The KMM, police believed, have aims to overthrow the Government through militant means.
"We have established a close link between the KMM and the militant Jemaah Islamiah group in Singapore that planned to attack US targets in the republic," Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai told a packed Press conference at Bukit Aman today.
Based on the training that they have received, police believe that the KMM have ties with al-Qaeda, the network run by Osama Laden, the Saudi the US Government accused of masterminding the airline suicide attacks on the World Trade Centre in in New York on Sept 11.
Norian said the 10, aged between 24 and 46, and includes three civil servants, were arrested between Jan 5 and Jan 21 at various locations nationwide.
Nineteen of the 23 arrested received training overseas - 10 in Afghanistan and nine at the religious camps named Ubaidiah and Abu Bakar in Mindanao, Philippines, that belonged to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Based on the relationship between the KMM and the Jemaah Islamiah in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as in Southern Philippines, it is believed that the group had had spread its operations regionally, rather than just focusing on Malaysia.
Asked whether the KMM and Jemaah Islamiah were part of a larger al-Qaeda network in South East Asia, Norian said: We believed so based on the training that they have received."
Although they went by different names and operated independently, there was no ideological difference between the KMM and the Jemaah Islamiah, the IGP said.
Both groups have the same leader - Abu Bakar Bashir @ Abdus Samad, who has Malaysia permanent residence status and believed to be Indonesian cleric and leader of Majlis Mujahiddin Indonesia (MMI).
Norian said the group received its ideological training from three Indonesian clerics with permanent resident status in Malaysia - Abu Bakar Bashir and and Hambali @ Nurjaman @ Riduan Isamuddin.
The duo, both are wanted by police, are believed to be in either Indonesia, Pakistan or Afghanistan.
A third - Mohd Iqbal A Rahman @ Abu Jibril - was arrested last June.
Norian said the clerics influenced the KMM members into believing that jihad is everything in Islam and that the practice of Islam was not compatible with the concept of democracy and elected-representation.
"They believe that an Islamic nation can only be created through jihad," he said. "As most people will not accept an Islamic state, it can only be achieved through their ways."
Asked whether any of the group's specific plans had been uncovered, Norian said the group had so far only gathered intelligence but did not have any specific targets.
Police also confirmed that the group purchased four tonnes of ammonium nitrate but is certain that the material, which can be used to make a bomb, is no longer in the country.
The ammonium nitrate, packed in 80 bags of 50 kg each, can be easily transported.
The KMM's ideological and physical training included mountain climbing and espionage aimed at improving physical and mental fitness. Training was conducted in the jungles and beaches of Selangor and Johor.
Norian said although three UTM lecturers were among the detainees, their influence on the university was limited.
He refused to comment whether there were any more lecturers or students among the 200 KMM members.
"Police will evaluate the role of each member," he added, "before making a decision whether to place them under arrest."