MALAYSIA
Overview: As a result of a combination of effective
law enforcement efforts and close counterterrorism cooperation with the
United States and the international community, Malaysia has not suffered
a serious incident of terrorism in recent years. Malaysia has been used
as a transit and planning site for terrorists, however. Royal Malaysian
Police (RMP) cooperated closely with the international community on
counterterrorism efforts, and RMP officers received training in a range
of counterterrorism skills. The effectiveness of the police in
identifying terrorist networks was limited by their continued reliance
on the Internal Security Act to detain suspects on the basis of
intelligence rather than on information gained through investigations.
Moreover, in spite of new measures to tighten immigration requirements
for some foreign citizens, the country remained vulnerable to potential
terrorist activity as a result of weak border controls and gaps in
maritime security in the areas bordering Thailand in Northern Malaysia
and the Philippines and Indonesia in Eastern Malaysia. Persons with
terrorist affiliations were able to take advantage of these weak
controls to travel within Malaysia and to transit to third countries.
2010 Terrorist Incidents: In January, Malaysian
police detained 10 persons reportedly involved in a plot to carry out
terrorist attacks against Hindu and Buddhist religious shrines in Kuala
Lumpur. In February, two Malaysians citizens were kidnapped in Sabah
state, by members of the Abu Sayyaf Group terrorist organization, and
taken to the Philippines to be held for ransom. The two men were
subsequently rescued by Philippine armed forces in late December.
Legislation and Law Enforcement: During 2010, the
Royal Malaysian Police Special Task Force-Operations/Counter-Terrorism
detained 15 suspected terrorists under the Internal Security Act. Most
of those detained were foreigners with connections to Jemaah Islamiya or
to Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid, and were later deported to their home
countries. At the end of the year, three terrorist suspects remained in
detention. The recruiting activities within Malaysian universities of a
number of these suspects led the Malaysian Government to more closely
scrutinize foreign students and to begin publicizing its
counterterrorism successes.
In general, immigration authorities' vetting of arriving travelers
was perfunctory, although the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the
implementation of a new biometrics system for arriving travelers
beginning in December 2010. Malaysian authorities detained terrorist
suspects when the authorities became aware of the suspects’ presence in
the country. Malaysian authorities also actively cooperated with other
countries to deport suspect foreigners to their home countries.
Countering Terrorist Finance: Malaysia's central
bank (Bank Negara Malaysia) has signed memoranda of understanding on the
sharing of financial intelligence with the Financial Intelligence Unit
of many countries in the region. Malaysia is an active member of the
Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, and its subsidiary Donors and
Provider Group for Technical Assistance, and has worked with the World
Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, the UN
Counterterrorism Committee Executive Directorate, and the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime.
Malaysia acted on UNSCRs 1267 and 1373 requests to freeze terrorist
assets. While Malaysia improved the legislative framework to criminalize
terrorist financing, there have been no investigations, prosecutions,
or convictions related to terrorist financing under this new scheme. The
Government of Malaysia continued to use the Internal Security Act as a
preventive measure instead of investigating cases.
Regional and International Cooperation: The
Malaysian government engaged on issues related to counterterrorism and
transnational crime with its neighbors, both bilaterally and in
international fora such as the ASEAN and APEC. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs operated the Southeast Asian Regional Center for
Counterterrorism, which has served to facilitate the training of
Malaysians officials involved in counterterrorism efforts, but has done
less to identify forward-looking or regional counterterrorism
priorities. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced plans to establish a
Counterterrorism Training Center, focused on improving the skills of law
enforcement officers, on Langkawi Island.
In September, Malaysian authorities extradited known terrorist Mas
Selamat Kastari to Singapore, from where he had been imprisoned and had
escaped in 2008. The RMP has a good working relationship with both
regional and international law enforcement agencies.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism:
Malaysia took the view that "extremists," at least those who have not
yet committed a crime, are misguided individuals who can best be treated
by rehabilitation rather than by punishment. School curricula and
instruction encouraged tolerance and Malaysian authorities were quick to
take action when they detected efforts to undermine social harmony. The
Malaysian government monitored radical Internet web sites, but
generally did not attempt to disrupt these sites, believing it can
better follow radical activity by allowing such sites to operate. The
government did not have a comprehensive strategic communication approach
to counter-radicalization, but during the year, the RMP began to
publicize the detentions of terrorist suspects, which has resulted in
greater public awareness of the dangers posed by extremists and has led
to an increase in public tips to the police regarding activities of
extremists, according to RMP contacts.
The RMP operated a de-radicalization program for terrorist suspects
in Malaysia's Kamunting Prison. The police employed clerics, family
members, and former radicals to convince terrorist suspects to renounce
violence. On release from detention, these persons continued to face
restrictions on their activities, including curfews and limits on their
travel and contacts, until they have demonstrated that they no longer
have affiliations with violent extremists.While the government touts the deradicalization program as highly
successful, there were no available figures on the rates of recidivism
of those who have completed it.
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