KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - New anti-terrorism laws will allow the Malaysian authorities to use information found on social media as hard evidence in court.

The Home Ministry will also propose that the Government enacts a new law to fight terrorism, following comments that existing legislation did not allow prosecution of those involved in terrorism activities abroad.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a new law was needed to enhance the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) and the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (PCA) to tackle the growing number of extremists in the country, especially those involved with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

He said this new law will either be amended into the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) or be created as a separate Act.

He added a similar law under the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) allowed the authorities to use information from social media as hard evidence against gangsterism.

"We want to do the same for terrorism," he said after attending a seminar at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia here on Saturday.

The Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division made 14 arrests of suspected extremists earlier this week.

These included three key figures believed to be behind the recruitment of Malaysians into ISIS.

The youngest recruit was a 14-year-old boy.

On Saturday, Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan had expressed that with Sosma, it was difficult to prove an individual's involvement with a militant group based abroad such as ISIS.