Law & Paneir

Early of this month, two of three UK school girls (Shamima Begum – 15 years old, Kadiza Sultana – 16 years old, and Amira Abasa – 15 years old) who left in February reportedly married with IS fighters in Syria. When the girls left, their behavior do not cast any doubt to their family members or friends as they prepared themselves with any other teenage girls might make before leaving on vacation. According to Guardian newspaper, the three girls probably recruited by a young woman, Aqsa Mahmood, who is from Scotland now residing in Syria since 2013. These three girls were recruited through social media. The disturbing question was how they are undetected by their family members, friends, teachers and authorities before they left UK? No one has any clear picture or definite answer for the said question. Similarly in Malaysia, we have everything to ask for and why some Malaysians exclusively the young persons are attracted to the cause of IS which is false. IS is so elusive ...

A few days ago, Malaysian Education Minister, Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid has pointed out that his ministry adopt zero tolerance on IS militants activities among teachers and students. He further said that teachers can play a proactive role by educating their students on atrocities done by IS militants. He also wanted a curriculum to be developed by the ministry on IS threats to be taught in schools. Early of this month, two of three UK school girls (Shamima Begum – 15 years old, Kadiza Sultana – 16 years old, and Amira Abasa – 15 years old) who left in February reportedly married with IS fighters in Syria. When the girls left, their behavior do not cast any doubt to their family members or friends as they prepared themselves with any other teenage girls might make before leaving on vacation. According to Guardian newspaper, the three girls probably recruited by a young woman, Aqsa Mahmood, who is from Scotland now residing in Syria since 2013. These three girls were recrui...

By  Nawar Firdaws PETALING JAYA: Fix the current security measures before implementing new ones which may sound nice on paper, but in reality are impractical. Terrorologist R Paneir Selvam said this to FMT when commenting on Putrajaya’s proposal to allow only passengers with valid tickets entry into airport terminals for airline check-in. “While it is good that the Malaysian Government is realising the importance of having better airport security, the said measure would be impossible to implement. “It would also see Malaysian airports operating differently from all other international airports. “Why not place better security measures at all of the airport’s exit and entry points, and train all security personnel there on ways to detect any suspicious individuals and behaviour?” Paneir, who is the chairman of the Association of Legal and Policy Researchers, said a recent news report pointed out the personnel’s lack of experience and training. The Sun daily had earlie...

Yesterday in Kabul, two suicide bombers killed 61 people and more than 207 people were injured. Recently in Nice, a terrorist used truck to kill more than 20 people. A few days ago, in Wurzburg, Germany a young refugee who is of unknown origin (Afghan/Pakistani) had attacked train passengers with knife and axe, where five people were injured. In addition, an 18-year-old German male of Iranian origin had killed at least eight people and wounded more than 20 people in Munich, Germany on Friday. This is regarded as a killing rampage. Three days ago, in Sydney, a man ignited gas bottles inside a vehicle and set the vehicle ablaze. Fortunately, no untoward incident had happened. Both suspects are believed to have had a mental history. Meanwhile in RAF Marham near Norfolk in England, the UK authority believe that there had been attempts to abduct a serviceman by two suspected terrorists who allegedly belong to a larger group. In Nice, Kabul and Wurzburg, IS has claimed responsibility...

France is under siege again. Yesterday was a public holiday in France. The French people are celebrating Bastille Day throughout France but in Nice a truck drove off into crowd and killed more than 84 people. Many people have been wounded as well. The French authorities believed it’s a terrorist attack. Even though the French police have killed the perpetrator but it’s unknown until now the involvement of other people in this attack. President Francois Hollande declared that the state of emergency has been extended for another three months. The US president labelled this attack as “a horrific terrorist attack”. This attack could have been executed by IS or al-Qaeda. It was also probably done by a person who is influenced by these groups or any other persons or groups. Until now there no one has claimed responsibility for this atrocity in Nice. If this attack directed by IS or al-Qaeda then they have taken their approaches into another level. Like in Sept 11, al-Qaeda had used pas...

By  Nawar Firdaws PETALING JAYA: Malaysia bukan lagi sekadar laluan transit pengganas tetapi juga menjadi sasaran, dan oleh itu lebih banyak langkah keselamatan dan kewaspadaan diperlukan, kata seorang pengkaji keganasan. Pensyarah kajian jenayah di Universiti Help, R Paneir Selvam, memberitahu FMT kenyataan cuai perlu dielakkan kerana ia boleh membangkitkan kemarahan atau mencabar kumpulan pengganas itu. Ini termasuk kenyataan Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar yang dilaporkan mencabar anggota IS warga Malaysia di luar negara supaya pulang sekiranya berani. “Ancaman kumpulan pengganas, terutamanya IS, tidak boleh diambil ringan. Mereka sanggup berbuat apa sahaja demi mencapai matlamat mereka,” kata Paneir yang merupakan pengerusi Persatuan Penyelidik Dasar dan Undang-Undang. “Lihat serangan terbaharu di Istanbul, Brussels dan Paris. Walaupun ada langkah keselamatan yang tinggi, mereka boleh melakukan serangan yang mengakibatkan kehilangan nyawa yang besar. “...

By Nawar Firdaws KUALA LUMPUR: Is Malaysia a “place of sin” in the eyes of Islamic State (IS) militants? An expert in terrorism studies, R Paneir Selvam, certainly thinks so. Speaking to FMT, Paneir said despite Malaysia being a Muslim country, the terror group was still able to convince a large number of its followers that Malaysia, too, had deviated from the true Islamic teachings. “This is the IS propaganda — spreading the message that Malaysia is akin to a place of sin. “They have successfully convinced some into believing that the country’s failure to fulfil or live up to their expectations, especially in the various aspects of religion, qualifies it as a place of sin and hence should not be spared from their attacks.” The Association of Legal and Policy Researchers’ chairman said although the government had done its best to counter IS ideologies, some still fall for the militants’ “holier than thou” attitude. “What Malaysian IS members fail to recognise is that th...

By Nawar Firdaws KUALA LUMPUR: Umpan syahid dan dibersihkan dosa adalah kaedah IS menarik minat generasi muda khasnya belia bermasalah dan jahil agama menyertai kumpulan pengganas itu, menurut seorang pakar kajian keganasan. “Mereka yang menyertai IS adalah orang yang tidak mempunyai pemahaman mendalam tentang agama, menjadikannya lebih mudah untuk mempengaruhi mereka, terutama individu yang kelihatan arif dalam kitab suci Al-Quran,” kata R Paneir Selvam, yang mengetuai Persatuan Penyelidik Undang-undang dan Dasar. Jelasnya, IS juga berjaya meyakinkan sesetengah umat Islam yang Malaysia menyimpang daripada ajaran Islam sebenar. “Inilah propaganda IS, menyebarkan mesej Malaysia merupakan lubuk dosa. “Mereka berjaya meyakinkan sesetengah orang yang kegagalan negara untuk memenuhi harapan mereka, terutama dalam aspek agama, layak digelar lubuk dosa dan tidak harus dikecualikan daripada serangan mereka,” katanya. Paneir memberitahu FMT, kumpulan pengganas yang berpangkala...

A few days ago, Puchong was under grenade attack. The Royal Malaysian Police has confirmed that it’s a terrorist attack and arrested 15 people including two policemen. On 21 June, IS has released a video urging IS’s supporters to kill non-Muslim believers in Malaysia. The threat imposed on the video is tangible. Officially, IS just landed by launching this attack. Therefore in future more deadly attacks are likely to come from them. IS is different from any other known terrorist groups especially from Al-Qaeda. They are more violent and willing to kill their own Muslim brothers whether Shiites or Sunnis to achieve their goals. They do not observe the sanctity of the month of Ramadhan. Their victims are men, women and children. They always choose public places like airports, shopping malls, cafes and hotels as their target to terrorize the public. Their victims always will be foreigners. They also have great empathy to publish their brutality on social media to garner more support...

Yesterday, yet again two separate car bombs detonated in the predominantly Shi’ite areas of Baghdad, killing nearly 126 people including 25 children and wounded more than 150 people. Islamic State (IS) has claimed the responsibility for the said attacks. A day earlier Dhaka was stunned with another deadly attack by IS-inspired local young Bangladeshis who killed 20 hostages and two policemen brutally. Most of their victims were foreigners. These terrorists are willing to die for the cause they believe in by maximising the impact of the attack. Last Tuesday, Istanbul was under siege. A well-coordinated suicidal attack on the Ataturk Airport by the three suicide bombers had killed 44 people. Even though until this moment no one has taken responsibility, but the United States believed that the attack has the attribution of IS where one of the most feared battalion of IS’ members involvement become clearer. This battalion uses the method of kamikaze which is known as ‘inghimasi’ t...

By Nawar Firdaws PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia appears to have shifted from being merely a transit point for terrorists to being a target, more security measures and care have to be employed. An expert on terrorism studies, R Paneir Selvam, told FMT that this meant careless remarks that can perhaps provoke or challenge these terror groups should be avoided at all costs. This also applied to Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar’s statement where he was reported to have challenged Malaysian IS members overseas to “come back instead of issuing threats from afar”, he added. “The threat posed by terrorist groups, especially IS, is real and should not be taken lightly. “They are willing to go to any extreme to achieve their goals,” the Association of Legal and Policy Researchers’ chairman said. “Just look at the recent attacks in Istanbul, Brussels, and Paris. Even with high security measures in place, they were able to carry out attacks that caused massive loss of liv...