Hajar’s sister was quoted as saying in a report that her brother wanted to turn over a new leaf and build a new life for himself in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Residents of Desa Baiduri flats in Cheras had no knowledge that a leader from the Abu Sayyaf group was quietly living among them for two years, up until his arrest in August last year.

Hajar Abdul Mubin, also known as Abu Asrie, had apparently been living in Kuala Lumpur with other relatives and friends from the same Yakan ethnic group, mainly found in Basilan, Philippines.

In an exclusive Sunday Star report, neighbours testified that they did not think much of the Yakans residing in the flats, including Hajar who is the nephew of another Abu Sayyaf leader called Furuji Indama.

Housewife Nurul Shuhada, 26, who lived in the unit opposite Hajar’s, remembered seeing many people regularly going in and out of the flat, adding that she merely thought they were unemployed.

“They liked to chat. When I made kerepek (crisps) outside, they liked to talk with me and asked me where my kuih (cakes) were going and things like that.

“I was surprised when I heard that those people were with the Abu Sayyaf because they were friendly to their neighbours,” she told the Sunday edition of the English daily.

A retired air force man Zulkifli Abu Talib, 57, said the Yakan community in the Desa Baiduri flats tended to stick together.

“We just thought they were Sabahan. Their language isn’t Bahasa Malaysia; they spoke their own language among themselves,” he said.

Before Hajar’s arrest, Zulkifli’s son had been involved in a scuffle with a group of Yakan, which later turned violent enough to prompt police intervention but it was settled with no report lodged.

“Just two weeks later, the police came. Then I found out that they were with the Abu Sayyaf. All of us here were scared. We were shocked,” Zulkifli said

On Tuesday, the High Court sentenced Abu Asrie to six years’ jail for supporting the Abu Sayyaf by becoming a member of the group at a house in Lorong Pangsa Baiduri 2, Taman Desa Baiduri in Cheras from 2010 to August 30 last year.

Hajar’s brother-in-law Abdul Syamir Dabilin, 25, was also sentenced to three years for intentionally omitting information on a terrorist act at the same time and place.

Meanwhile, Hajar’s sister, who wished to be known as Rosmawati, told Sunday Star that her brother wanted to turn over a new leaf and build a new life for himself in Kuala Lumpur.

“If you leave the Abu Sayyaf group, they will kill you,” she said.

“So he made the choice. If he stayed in the Philippines and they found him, they would kill him. So he escaped here.”

According to the 22-year-old, Hajar was married two years ago and now has a five-month-old daughter.

She added Hajar was a quiet man who rarely went out with friends and preferred to stay at home, reading the Quran and praying.

During his time with the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, Hajar is believed to have been involved in the kidnapping of six Philippine nationals and may have even taken part in beheading one of them.