IT was indeed shocking to hear about the latest round of arrests involving suspected Islamic State (IS) militants.
It wasn’t so much that we were told they were about to launch attacks. It was that they planned to launch said attacks on the eve of Merdeka, and as Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said on Friday, on Merdeka Day itself.
Police are now on high alert to foil any possible plan for attacks on or around Sept 16, when everyone, whether in the peninsula or in Sabah and Sarawak, are celebrating the formation of this federation we call Malaysia. Whether this is just a precaution, given that the trio arrested earlier had planned attacks on Merdeka eve and day, or whether there is actually any intelligence indicating such attacks on Malaysia Day would take place, is anybody’s guess. The police force is keeping things close to its collective chest.
It doesn’t really matter actually. As the saying goes, better to be safe than sorry. So, news that police are on high alert for Malaysia Day is welcome news indeed.
Terror attacks are sickening, despicable things. Terror attacks in the name of religion, even more so. Here we have a terror attack planned to coincide with the day we celebrate Malaysia, or rather Malaya, as the peninsula was known then, gained independence from our colonial masters. And, we did it peacefully, mind you.
Now we know that we could possibly face attacks on the day commemorating the occasion of us coming together as a nation.
That such attacks should be planned for such days as Merdeka and Malaysia Day is a slap in our collective faces. It is a slap in the “face” of our beloved nation.
How can a Malaysian even think of doing such a thing?
The problem here is that IS militants do not think of themselves as Malaysians. IS aims to set up a caliphate and any nation which objects to this or its methods is “fair game”. And, Malaysia is a moderate country which is against all forms of terrorism. In the eyes of IS, Malay-sian Muslims are not true believers and their government not legitimate.
But why would any Malaysian subscribe to this way of thinking? Barring the threat from communists in previous years, this country has been living in peace for decades now. The problem comes when religion is misinterpreted or manipulated. Malaysian IS members have come under the influence of a certain ideology, one that flies in the face of the concept of wasatiyyah, or moderation, which this country and its leaders espouse.
So, it is that IS members detained in the country are now being subjected to a “reprogramming” of sorts. They are being counselled, taught the proper teachings of Islam, in the hope that they can be returned to the true path. It is a method somewhat similar to the way we overcame the influence and threat of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).
In order to win the war during the Emergency, CPM members and sympathisers were made to “see the light”. Security forces and the country’s leaders at the time recognised that one crucial way of blunting the threat of the CPM and eventually claiming peace for the fledgling nation was to win over the hearts and minds of the people. And, the people included CPM members themselves.
CPM members and sympathisers arrested then were, instead of being thrown in prison, treated kindly, persuaded to switch sides and even get other communists to do so. Even those said to have committed murders and killed many members of the security forces during their time as CPM members were accepted back into society. Some even went on to have stellar careers in the police force.
Some former CPM members are still alive today, fully integrated and functioning members of Malaysian society, their past as “communist terrorists” as they were known then secret perhaps to all but a few family members and old policemen.
But, can Malaysia have such success with IS members here? Only time will tell. And, chances are, we won’t really know until some time in the future when someone writes about it. When IS members are properly rehabilitated and released back into society, we probably won’t know.
Whatever the outcome of our rehabilitation efforts, one thing is for certain. Despite the fact that reports put it that the influence of IS is waning, the terror group still poses a threat and may do so for years to come. Our security forces need to remain vigilant.
Let there never be a repeat of the attack on the Movida entertainment outlet in Puchong.
The writer, Leslie Andres has more than two decades of experience, much of which has been spent writing about crime and the military. A die-hard Red Devil, he can usually be found wearing a Manchester United jersey when outside of work. He can be reached via lesliea@nst.com.my