Mr Saifduddin told reporters that the 46 people who were questioned immediately after the incident were assisting with investigations and were not arrested.
“These individuals were called up for purposes for police to interview them to establish motives (of the suspect),” he said.
The minister also stressed that the police were still investigating the motive of the suspect and urged the public to stop speculating.
“We want to reassure everyone that public safety is of utmost importance, and that the police will do its best to resolve this incident,” he added.
Residents in a village where the suspect lived told CNA that the family was reserved and kept to themselves. There were no signs they were extremists or terrorists.
Malaysian police earlier said they were tracking down more than 20 known JI members in Johor.
JI is linked to Al Qaeda, the terror group that carried out the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. It is responsible for some of Indonesia’s deadliest terror attacks, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people.
JI’s spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir set up a religious school or madrasah in Ulu Tiram called Luqmanul Hakiem in the early 1990s, which is within 100 metres of the suspect’s home in Kampung Ulu Tiram.
The school was attended by Noordin Muhammad Top, the suspected mastermind of the Jakarta hotel bombings in 2009, as well as another JI militant Mukhlas who was part of the 2002 Bali bombings.
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