Low-key attitude in combating Isis influences in Malaysia would lead to continuous spreading of Islamic State (IS) ideologies amongst Muslims in the country, the DAP said today.
DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang in a statement said police and government authorities are “quite lost” as to how to deal with the threat of IS in the country.
“It is a matter of grave security concern that despite police efforts to keep the IS threat under check in the past six months, the Malaysian authorities seem to be fighting a losing battle as the threat of IS has increased by leaps and bounds over the months; not only lure Malaysian Muslim youths but even 14-year-old boys and girls to join them in their international terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq.
“(The threat also increases as it is) revealed that the IS are able to operate their cells in the country as to plot the kidnap of Malaysian Chinese towkays and to stage bank robberies – as revealed by the Home Minister in one of his recent but questionable pronouncements,” said Lim.
Home Minister Zahid Hamidi had previously warned rich tycoons in the country to be on the alert for possible kidnappings by IS, and to beef up their own security to prevent such occurrences. He said that according to intelligence received, IS are targeting the rich in Malaysia, who are mostly non-Malays, to be kidnapped for ransom money.
The latest arrest of a 14-year-old girl in KLIA on the way to Syria to perform sexual jihad had also triggered alarm bells in the nation, as to the kind of Islam that was being preached to youth in religious centers.
He said that the government had a “laid back reactive” attitude in dealing with the threat of IS, as apparent in a statement from former Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan, who said – “The Malays in our country, when speaking about Islam, they are easily influenced to help based on sympathy. So we have to remind them that this (IS) is not our problem, don’t get involved in other country’s problems.”
“It is this type of laid-back reactive rather than creative and proactive strategy which explains why the challenge of IS transcending national borders is not matched effectively,” commented Lim.
Lim urged the government to grasp the full complexities and challenges of the Islamic State, to work out an effective national strategy to counter its influences here.
Sixty six Malaysians have been arrested to date by authorities for attempting to join IS, while nearly 60 have reportedly already joined their ranks.
Quoting an article from the latest issue of Atlantic, titled “What Isis really means”, Lim said that the IS is no mere collection of psychopaths, and that it is entrenched in Salafi-Jihad ideology, promoting Daulah Islamiah through waging wars and declaring as “infidels” governments which do not uphold Syariah laws, which includes all the heads of state of every Muslim country with man-made law above Sharia – including Malaysia.
– The Rocket
