Malaysia's Continuing Fight Against Terrorism

By Mohd Razman Abdullah KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- As the Daesh terrorists menace the world, with Jakarta as their latest target, Malaysia is being cited as a country that has successfully contained militant extremism. It fought the communist insurgents for four decades from the 1940s, restored harmony after the May 13 1969 racial troubles, and is now doing a fine job deradicalising terrorism, said the UK news portal The Telegraph. Analysts agree with the portal that successive Malaysian governments have worked hard to harness the benefits of economic growth to build community harmony and reduce the threat of domestic extremism. They give four reasons for Malaysia's success: effective laws, fair distribution of wealth, the common stand of the people against terrorism, and a system of education that gives due attention to love of country and good values. Associate Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani of Malaysian public university, Universiti Utara Malaysia's College of Law, Government and International Studies said the country cut its teeth in the war against terror during the communist insurgency, when it inroduced the Internal Security Act in 1960 which was replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in 2015. Other counter-terrorism laws include the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012. "These laws are effective enough to deter anybody with the evil intention of creating chaos in the country," Mohd Azizuddin said when contacted. "What should be the focus for the security enforcement now is to curb the spreading of twisted jihadism ideology via social media." Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Abu Bakar, a lecturer in Universiti Malaya's Strategic and International Department, said the New Economic Policy that the country's second Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein introduced after the May 13 tragedy brought about a more equitable distribution of wealth. Implementation of the policy enabled the people to be involved in developing the economy and at the very least meet their needs, he said. Razak's son, Prime Minister Najib, continued the legacy with the introduction of the New Economic Model in 2010, Dr Mohamad said. So, how successful has Malaysia been in eradicating poverty, which is a major aim of its economic policies? At an Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute event last Thursday, Najib said the poverty level in the country declined from 49 per cent in 1970 to 0.6 per cent in 2014. Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussain, a senior lecturer at Science Universiy of Malaysia, said Malaysians shared the same stand against terrorism, as demonstrated during the intrusion into east Malaysian state, Sabah by a group of gunmen from the southern Philippines in 2013. "Everybody was united in wanting to safeguard the nation and its sovereignity," he added. Ahmad Atory believed that political cooperation between UMNO and PAS (both are Malaysia's political parties) could help the Malays from being influenced by militants and their ideology. "They share a common interest in the welfare of the Malays," he said. Prof Dr Ramlah Adam, director of the Centre for Malaysian Royal Institutional Studies of University of Malaysia, Perlis, said the national education syllabus always emphasised instilling patriotism and good values, apart from knowledge. "The essence of our education system helps students to mature. It helps them to decide to do something that is beneficial to themselves and their future instead of something destructive like terrorism," she said. Malaysia will be in the limelight next week when it hosts the two-day International Conference on Deradicalisation and Countering Violent Extremism, after it was chosen by the US to host a regional digital counter-messaging centre to fight extremist ideology. --BERNAMA