[PART 2] ISLAMIC STATE FIGHTERS HEADING HOME: IS SOUTHEAST ASIA READY?
MALAYSIA TO BRING HOME 23 MALAYSIANS DETAINED IN SYRIA
Such returnees, frustrated with their
failure to achieve martyrdom with the collapse of the Islamic State, could
attempt to continue their mission by staging suicide attacks in their homeland,
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador warned in an interview last
month.
Extremism in Malaysia is on the rise in
general, pointed out El-Muhammady, “because of the residual of the
post-conflict in Syria, the returning foreign fighters and the changes in
political dynamics in the country and the region”.
GIVING THEM A SECOND CHANCE
In Indonesia, close to 100 of its nationals
have returned, with 500 still stranded in Syria or on the run. Back home, the
former terrorist convicts lead rather normal lives; they can work and mix with
the general public.
Deradicalisation expert Noor Huda Ismail
helps former Islamic State terrorists and supporters to reintegrate into
society under the non-governmental organisation Yayasan Prasasti Perdamaian
(Institute for International Peace Building).
“Those released terrorists must be given a
second chance so that they can be integrated and won’t (go) back to a violent
world any more, or recidivism,” he said.
To this end, he works with Pak Ucup, who
runs a restaurant where former terrorists are able to work and spend time
together.
Ucup, a former terrorist convict himself,
holds gatherings often, believing this a good way to ensure that these former
terrorists feel less lonely. It also allows him to keep tabs on them.
“If they don’t (make) new friends, they’d
go back to their old friends (who) would still advocate violence … and we’d see
recidivism,” said Huda. “And then the whole society would pay the price of not
having reformed released terrorists.”
A NEW WAVE
In cyberspace, the battle may be harder to
fight. While there are laws in place and reformation of terrorists, it is
getting increasingly difficult to govern ideologies.
Throughout the region, Islamic State
supporters use chat applications like Telegram to share information and connect
with like-minded individuals. There is chatter from hundreds of groups in
Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“They no longer depend on instructions
(nor) on plans from ISIS leaders in Syria; instead, they plan independently,
and they use ISIS as a group to legitimise their fight,” said Malaysia’s
anti-terrorism chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
He warned of a new wave of “easily
impressionable Muslims” planning attacks following the reappearance in April of
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on video to rally supporters.
In a way, the biggest threat to Southeast
Asia is not the returning fighters, but rather the “people who never left, who
want recognition from ISIS central”, said Sidney Jones, the director of
Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict.
Many governments have cybersecurity
measures in place to stop the spread of Islamic State influence. But the Dark
Web — where terrorist organisations, drug cartels and other criminals abound —
remains relatively unpoliced.
Cybersecurity consultant Kenneth Shak has
even come across military and government intelligence on the Dark Web.
“They have all this intel,” he said.
“That’s why you don’t see terrorist attacks every single day — because at the
back end, they’re busy planning.”
The reality, admitted Huda, is that
“there’ll always be bad apples in any society (and) people whom we can’t
rehabilitate”. “I can’t save them all,” he said.
“They believe strongly that this is their
core identity. And for this kind of people … we need to lock them up forever or
monitor them forever. We have to be suspicious of them forever.”
Source: Channel New Asia – 25 July 2019
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