A few months ago, the former inspector-general
of police, Mohamad Fuzi Harun, stated that Tawau and Sandakan have been
identified as new transit points for Islamic State (IS) terrorists to
travel into Southeast Asia, the Southern Philippines and Rakhine
(Myanmar).
The current Inspector-General of Police Abdul
Hamid Bador further stressed that at the country level, the Royal
Malaysian Police (PDRM) has become more vigilant by increasing security
levels at houses of worship and diplomatic missions.
Both
statements from the police top brass have stated that terrorist threats
are impending in Malaysia, and greater attention needs to be given to
avert them.
This also shows that IS has a good ground network and
has identified Malaysia as a platform from which to launch attacks
elsewhere. Past existence of terrorist groups in Malaysia, such as the
KMM and Al-Ma'unah, were influenced by events that occurred outside
Malaysia, such as the Palestine and Afghanistan conflicts. These
conflicts inspired them to launch attacks in Malaysia.
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Two
remnant active members of JI and Al Qaeda, Yazid Suffat and Lotfi
Ariffin, were later seen as IS members. Some of the suspected combatants
of IS are now returning to Malaysia. There is a strong likelihood that
they will be detained, interrogated or in some cases prosecuted by the
courts, as has been seen.
In
the case of Sri Lanka, two suicide bombers were brothers as reported by
the media. Another woman, who was the wife of one the suicide bombers,
detonated a suicide vest killing herself, her two children and three
police personnel during the ensuing crackdown. This is of real concern.
The terrorists are now not only willing to "sacrifice" themselves for
their cause and ideology, but are able to instigate and influence their
family members to be part of their ‘noble mission’.
The recent,
increased participation of women in terrorist activities indicates yet
another concern. Previously, women were seen as taking a more supportive
or passive role, but the current trend indicates a shift. For example,
in 2015, a 14-year-old girl, suspected of pursuing terrorist causes, was
arrested by the PDRM at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
while attempting to board a Cairo-bound flight.
These are known
sympathisers and terrorists of IS. How about sympathisers who are not
known to national and international intelligence and security agencies?
The question arises as to what level of monitoring is being dedicated by
the intelligence and security agencies in Malaysia to actively monitor
the friends, family members and extended family members of
terrorists/suspected terrorists.
Brenton Harrison Tarrant (above),
who perpetrated the Christchurch attacks, and hate preacher Zahran
Hashim, who was reported as the mastermind of the Sri Lanka attacks,
were classified as low-level threats.
It is likely the
intelligence and security agencies never saw these people as a real
threat to national security. I will not blame them entirely due to the
limitation of resources available to them as there are several
classifications for terrorists. These agencies tend to focus on high-
and middle-level terrorist threats, who are seen as more imminent.
Low-level
terrorists tend to be part of sleeper cells, as was witnessed in Sri
Lanka where nine suicide bombers were part of the attacks. Due to the
limitation of resources faced by the agencies, these low-level terrorist
threats were ignored. This gave them a great advantage in executing
their "missions" successfully.
It is imperative then, that
ordinary citizens play the role of "unofficial" informants to help these
agencies tackle this growing threat in Malaysia. Political and
religious leaders from all sectors, especially the government, must play
a central role. They must actively address and openly discuss this
issue with the public and reiterate that the path taken by terrorists is
illegal and religiously unacceptable.
As
pointed out by Anwar Ibrahim, the Islamic bodies need to be vigilant
against religious fanatics and extremist groups, and emphasise that
Islam promotes harmony and opposes all forms of violence. This message
needs to be stressed aggressively by Muslim leaders from the government
to the masses.
In the Christchurch attacks, a Malaysian, Muhammad Haziq bin Mohd Tarmizi, 17 (above),
was among the 50 victims who were brutally murdered by the attacker.
This can be leveraged as a propaganda tool for IS to instigate their
supporters and sympathisers to launch attacks in Malaysia. Therefore,
the MCMC, including the government media and enforcement agencies must
be vigilant to ensure this issue is not being manipulated by extremists
to gain support for their purposes.
Once again, there is evidence
of the role hate preachers play in terrorist attacks. They are
instrumental and their significance cannot go unheeded. The role played
by Omar Bakri Muhammad, Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, also known as "Abu Hamza"
and "Anjem Choudary", in instigating British subjects in the UK to act
against their own people and country is irrefutable. For these
preachers, the ideology that they have subscribed to is more important
than the lives of civilians, which include women and children.
As a
sovereign nation, we cannot afford to make compromises on issues
involving national security. The peace and security of Malaysia are
vital to all and we should never allow ourselves to be held hostage by
racial and religious emotions when dealing with such matters.
R PANEIR SELVAM is attached to the Institute of Crime and Criminology, Help University.
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