The post-September 11, 2001, era has largely been kind to Malaysia. Much of this can be traced to how Malaysia responded to allegations immediately after the terrorist attacks in New York and near Washington that Southeast Asia was a hotbed for terrorism. Whereas neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines were censured for their slow response in curbing Islamic extremist elements in their midst, Malaysia swiftly jailed suspected terrorists and closed madrassas (Islamic schools) suspected of preaching hate. Soon even Washington, which had long frowned on Malaysia for its myriad human-rights abuses, was singing its praises as a no-nonsense, unwavering success in "the war on terror". That bolstered the impression of Malaysia as a moderate and progressive Islamic nation, an image that for the most part has stuck to this day.
| Except for Mahathir, and PAS, and the fact that the Bad Boyz seem to roam pretty freely there. And now there's the case of southern Thailand... |
But with new allegations by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that militants involved in a separatist movement in southern Thailand were trained in the jungles of the northern Malaysian state of Kelantan, which borders Thailand, the substance of that reputation is being questioned.
| Rather than investigating and doing something about the problem if one's found, they decided to tell Toxin he's nuts... |
That strikes some as warranted, considering how much the Western-led "war on terror" has incited the ire of the Muslim world. But the Malaysian government won't have it. "I am shocked over such a statement," retorted Malaysian Premier Abdullah Badawi. "If Thaksin has such information, he should convey this to Malaysia through diplomatic channels. We question Thaksin's motive for making the statement."
| Maybe he's cheesed that somebody's trying to take a few provinces away from him? |
Malaysian authorities have accused Thaksin of trying to divert attention from his administration's brutal methods in fighting the southern insurgency that his government blames on Muslim separatists. The latest outrage came in October, when 87 Muslim protesters in Tak Bai suffocated to death after they were stuffed into military trucks for six hours. More than 500 people have died in the south since fighting began last January.
| Yeah, but how many were riding around on Motorcycles of Doom™, waving guns or tossing explosives? |
Others doubt that Thaksin would make such allegations if not true; being disproved would undermine his credibility and run the risk of irrevocably damaging relations with Malaysia. "It's very possible terrorists have been trained in Malaysia," said Singapore-based terrorist analyst Rohan Gunaratna. To what extent remains unclear, "but there's been training in the Philippines and Indonesia" - why should the jungles of Malaysia be considered immune? "You can train without the knowledge of governments."
| The Commies did it 40 years ago. What's changed since? |
Thaksin says he has photographs of militant training grounds in Kelantan, though the photos have yet to be released. In the meantime, perhaps the most pressing question is how much sympathy Islamic extremism has in Malaysia, home to a slim Muslim majority. "If you look at the historical context of Malaysia," said an official with the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry, "we [the government] have worked hard to win the hearts and minds of the people." He said has been achieved mainly through economic development. "By bringing prosperity we have taken away the social causes of terrorism." Others are not so sure. Kelantan, they point out, is controlled by the atavistic Islamic opposition party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS); furthermore, they warn, economic progress in Malaysia has instilled a self-congratulatory complacency among the ruling elite. "Indonesia, the Philippines, even Thailand have admitted their countries aren't all peachy, that terrorists have tried to operate there," said a businessman who has worked and traveled in the region for the past eight years. "In Malaysia, the attitude is much more defensive, maybe because of the economic success and the illusions that come with it, but you never hear someone in the government saying, 'We may have missed something.'"
| Thailand is also something of an economic success story, so why's the Islamic insurgency popping up now, when things are getting better? Where was it in 1972, when the country was largely agricultural and unelectrified? |
Understanding that tendency is vital to any discussion that considers whether the Malaysian government is doing enough to curb terrorist sympathies from taking root here.
| It could be that the Malaysian government has no involvement with terrorism, but that PAS is sympathetic to them and also controls Kelantan. Despite its losses in the last election, the government is still scared of PAS... |
Over the past two decades, Malaysia has arguably fought to protect its national reputation more fiercely than any nation in the region. It has ambitiously promoted a robust image of itself though megaprojects and incessant propagandizing. The country's information minister was quoted as saying in October, "We have not only made Malaysia peaceful, successful and prosperous, but we have also in a very strong way become an inspiration to the whole world."
| "At least until Mahathir opens his mouth. Then people go back to admiring Singapore and we're the usual chopped liver, only with turbans... |
Such whitewashing, standard front-page fare here, has contributed to a culture that is worrisomely averse to criticism and introspection; thoughts of unflattering developments are rarely entertained by either the government or the rakyat (citizens). All this is not to suggest that Malaysia has become a training ground for terrorists, only that the reality may be more troubling than the government or the rakyat are willing to admit. Many suspected terrorists, from radical Muslim preacher Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, to elderly cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), have spent time in Malaysia. An alleged bomb maker for the JI is Malaysian. And the author of the book The Liberation of Pattani, which urges Malay-Muslims to rebel against the Thai government, calling it their religious duty, lived for a while in Kelantan. Malay-Muslims live on both sides of the Thai-Malaysian border. This is not to mention the spread of literature here espousing Saudi Arabia's puritanical interpretation of Islam, known as Wahhabism, or the fact that Islam here is particularly race-based. Almost all Muslims are Malay. Malays are born into Islam. Some fear this may be heightening acuteness to differences and exacerbating the us-versus-them mindset and under-siege mentality gripping much of the Muslim world.
| I'd also add that much of the economic development's due to the ethnic Chinese, who aren't Muslim, for the most part. Kelantan's not the economic engine of Malaysia. |
But Dr Joseph Liow Chin Yong of the Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore warns against drawing too many conclusions from these developments. He says Abdullah's style is quieter than that of his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, who retired last year after 22 years in power, but this does not mean Abdullah has been less than vigilant in weeding out terrorist elements. Madrassas are carefully monitored, he said, and while Wahhabi literature is still available, "the issue is not with Wahhabism, but with the way people interpret Wahhabi ideology in the socio-political context they are in. For example, Wahhabism will never be popular in Malaysia and Singapore as a political ideology because the conditions, ie alienation and marginalization by Western forces, do not exist." Others argue that US President George W Bush's "war on terror" is acting as fodder for extremists and their ideologies, undermining government vigilance and challenging past assumptions about Muslim thinking. A prominent Muslim scholar here recently told Asia Times Online there is a serious and growing problem of sympathy for Islamic extremism, "even among rational and intelligent Muslims". There is debate as to whether the many battles in which Muslims around the world now find themselves embroiled are garnering terrorist sympathy in the region or simply sympathy for Muslim brethren. But for the sake of Malaysia, the Malaysian government would be wise not to jump to conclusions. |