Police hunt gunman as Johor shooting spotlights safety concerns in Malaysia-Singapore SEZ area

Malaysian police are hunting a gunman behind a brazen daylight shooting outside a restaurant in southern Johor state, raising safety and security concerns in an area crucial to the special economic zone established by Malaysia and Singapore.

A 40-year-old man was shot dead on Wednesday while taking a call outside an eatery in Taman Pelangi Indah, just a 30-minute drive from the Causeway linking Johor with Singapore.

CCTV footage of the incident, widely shared on Malaysian and Singaporean social media, showed the apparent gunman in a crash helmet approaching the victim from behind and the man then collapsing to the ground.

Johor police said the victim was shot four times. Investigators have yet to determine possible motives behind the killing.

“A special team has been formed and tasked with investigating the case thoroughly and identifying those involved,” Johor police chief M. Kumar said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

He said the shooting was an isolated case and “not related to any security risks or terrorist threats in Johor”.