Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the ministry is trying to establish whether nine people who were arrested following the shooting were operating as a group.

Evidence is still being gathered, and multiple hypotheses being considered, including the possibility of their involvement in smuggling and human trafficking, Bernama quoted him as saying.

A Thai woman was among the nine people who were arrested in Bukit Kayu Hitam and Padang Besar hours after the attack on the vehicle at 5.40am on Wednesday about 1km from the border.

The vehicle was driven by Nasaruddin Nasir, the Bukit Kayu Hitam commander of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency. He was on his way to perform subuh prayers when two men on a motorcycle, dressed in black and wearing full-face helmets, approached his car. One of them fired two shots, hitting the car’s rear right door and front passenger door.

Nasaruddin, who was driving alone, was unharmed. He pursued the gunmen for about 1km after which they fled into a nearby industrial area.