KUALA LUMPUR – Has Malaysia done enough to root out radical elements or individuals which have made their presence known since the early 2000s?
This is one of the many concerns raised by terrorism watch groups, following the deadly attack perpetrated by a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member on a police station in Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru yesterday.
According to International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals’ Southeast Asia regional director Andrin Raj, prior missions carried out by federal police did not fully eradicate JI’s influence in Malaysia.
He pointed to how deputy inspector-general of police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay had previously taken a firm stance against JI when he was heading the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division (E8) from 2013 to 2019.
“The current effectiveness of Malaysian law enforcement in addressing terrorism has taken a step back (as) we have not seen crackdowns on radical groups or preachers in many years,” Andrin told Scoop.
“When JI was operating in Malaysia, (Ayob) conducted many operations and infiltrations under the E8 unit into jihadist groups to neutralise any threats that might arise.
“So, the threats were being curtailed. However, this did not completely prevent JI from restructuring and reorganising itself.”
Andrin, who is also director of the Nordic Counterterrorism Network in Finland, said Malaysian authorities will need to reassess JI’s threat as well as its links to Isis and local jihadist groups in the country.
He added that police investigations into the incident should seek to ascertain whether the perpetrator, who was shot dead during the altercation, had any mental defects which JI could have potentially preyed on.
Meanwhile, University of Indonesia’s forensic terrorism expert Zora A. Sukabdi said terrorism financing in Malaysia might be a cause for concern, considering how there are talks of international scam and fraud centres establishing their bases here with local bank accounts.
“The next course of action for authorities (after the Ulu Tiram attack) would be to crack down on donations and investigate the possibility of terrorism financing in the country,” she told Scoop.
“JI’s influence was strong in the past, but they may have chosen to work under the radar now. In Indonesia, there is a ‘New JI’ network conducted by a new generation of members.
“It’s possible that the new movement is happening in Malaysia too. Just like variants of the Covid-19 virus, there are always new variants of these groups and networks.”
She also said the motive behind the attack could be due to JI’s desire to “be in power” and show that they still exist, following a period of relative inactivity after hundreds of arrests executed by Southeast Asian governments over the past decade or so.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has since said that more than 20 individuals believed to be JI members have been identified in Johor after the attack by a male in his 30s.
Police have also arrested the suspect’s five family members, aged 19 to 62, as well as two members of the public, believed to be a male and female student, aged 21 and 22.
The duo were detained after police found their presence at the police station just before the 2.24am attack to be suspicious, with the duo said to have shown up to seek police advice on a molestation case from two years ago.
The suspect had entered through the station’s backdoor as police were assisting the duo. Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar, one of the officers who had approached the suspect, died after being hacked with a machete while another officer, Muhamad Syafiq Ahmad Said, died due to multiple gunshot wounds.
Mohd Hasif Roslan, the police corporal who was also shot, is currently being treated at the state capital’s Sultan Ismail Hospital.
As JI makes the headlines again after the attack, Scoop took a look into the roots of the group, which has claimed a slew of attacks in its name. – May 18, 2024