Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said his country's new anti-terrorism laws are a necessary weapon against what he said are "very real" threats by the Islamic State group.
Najib offered the defense Monday in Kuala Lumpur at the start of a two-day international conference on violent extremism.
The new laws have come under fire from human rights activists over the return of a decades-old practice that allows police to detain suspects without trial.
Najib said he understood the need to maintain civil liberties, but pointed out that "there are no civil liberties under Daesh," using an alternative name for IS. "The best way to uphold civil liberties is to ensure the safety of the nation."