IT has been 15 years since Sept 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda operatives rammed two planes into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the deaths of thousands onsite, followed by thousands more abroad from America’s foreign policy of choice, the War on Terror. In Malaysia, this means a child aged seven who watched the horror of those attacks on the media would be a young adult, today.
To understand Malaysia’s interaction with the events of Sept 11 and what they mean in the current threat landscape, it is useful to recall that America’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a part of its War on Terror as well as its categorisation of Southeast Asia as the “second front” in that war collided with Malaysian domestic views of Sept 11. Tendrils of anti-American sentiments and resentment linger in public memory. While a 2015 Pew Report poll revealed a generally favourable view (54 per cent) of the United States and its foreign policy among Malaysians sampled, only 28 per cent expressed support for the US’ actions in West Asia, particularly against Daesh (Islamic State militant group) in Iraq and Syria.
This disapproval of US foreign policy in West Asia, which is frequently perceived rightly or wrongly as anti-Muslim given the US’ unyielding support for Israel and its past misadventures in Muslim-majority countries, has a significant impact on the way extremist organisations are perceived by Malaysian Muslims today. Many Malaysian Muslims, plugged into the concept of the global ummah, draw on the history of colonisation, oppression and humiliation shared over time and across borders to assert a sense of identity. This may perhaps result in a level of apathy among some Malaysians who believe extremist groups to be a creation of foreign policy, Zionism or desperation.
In Malaysia, more than 75 per cent of extremist detainees were radicalised online. Thomas Koruth Samuel from the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Counterterrorism (SEARCCT) attributes part of this to depictions of the situation in Syria and Iraq. These narratives tap into the well of empathy and sympathy for a community suffering under oppression. They go to the heart of a shared identity.
As formative as narratives are to the radicalisation of an individual, they are seldom discussed. This is perhaps because narratives are treated as stories, given the same leverage as fiction, and therefore under-valued. As a result, the manipulation of narratives — particularly those that relate to something as fundamental as identity — is unchecked, unchallenged and unquestioned. In a January 2016 video, Katibah Nusantara member Abdul Halid Dari stated that “those who brand us as khawarij (dissenters), Daesh and even Mossad agents are in fact Shia and its allies”. His castigation responds to the confused, confusing and competing narratives offered by others to explain the conflict in Syria. However, it also simultaneously conflates and alienates different identities within the Muslim community. The net effect of these barbed trades is that no one party is ever acting in an Islamic manner and none are ever “Islamic” enough.
These views and impressions, entrenched in a identity under siege, presents challenges in a multiethnic and multireligious society as Malaysia, especially when public statements and counter-messaging is needed. This is because counter-messages have to placate different communities in a Malaysian society where enclaves exist for narratives to circulate and affirm irrespective of accuracy or validity. Thus, counter-narratives aiming to deliver counter-messages to the general audience in Malaysia are faced with rife challenges because in Malaysia, the “general” audience is thin to the point of non-existence.
This Sept 16, Malaysia celebrates its 53rd anniversary of nationhood in the midst of a world that is externally and internally polarised. There has to be a focus on mutual understanding, social resilience and the empathy to solve problems, as perhaps can be taken from 2016’s “Sehati, Sejiwa” tagline. The Sept 11 attacks, although a distant memory, still reverberate in a different way a decade-and-a-half ago. It is now the spillover effects of that extremism that has morphed in reach and tactics — evidenced by groups like Daesh — that Malaysia must respond to together as a nation.
Farlina Said is an analyst in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme of ISIS Malaysia. She can be reached via: farlina@isis.org.my