PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has come up with its own guideline on extremism, radicalism and terrorism in the community.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said the guideline, drafted following a study by the Malaysian Institute of Youth Research and Development (IYRES), could be used by stakeholders as a reference for better understanding and exposure to the issue at hand.
“The comprehensive IYRES’ study has identified youths’ inclination towards radical activities such as the Islamic State (IS) from several aspects including demography and psychology,” Zahid said in a statement issued after he chaired the Youth Development Cabinet Committee meeting.
It was reported that the study, conducted by the Youth and Sports Ministry through IYRES, with the co-operation of the Royal Malaysia Police and the Prisons Department, also included recommendations to address the problem.
Zahid said it was crucial for the community to be sensitive to factors that push youths towards negative elements and there was also a need to make efforts to steer them towards a more beneficial direction.
The Deputy Prime Minister also said that 80 per cent of those arrested as of Sept 20 last year were for their involvement in radical movements.
“All sorts of radical movement preventions have been formulated by the Youth and Sports Ministry to be coordinated in an integrated manner with other ministries and agencies,” he added.
Zahid also said that the general preventive aspect had been given priority by using mainly social media to spread the word in line with strategies used by outsiders to turn the youths into radicalism.