Efforts to curb radicalism must continue, say security
experts
SINGAPORE: Efforts to curb radicalism must continue to
prevent radical groups from dominating the religious discourse in
the region.
That's the hope of security experts who are featured in a
new Channel News Asia documentary series entitled Misguided.
Its producers also interviewed former Jemaah Islamiyah members in
Indonesia.
Ngruki is a small village in Solo that looks like any other in
Indonesia. Of late Ngruki has been in the spotlight, for this is
where the Al-Mukmin Pesantren, an Islamic boarding school is
located.
A number of people linked to the school have been implicated in
terrorist attacks.
It was also in Ngruki that the crew of Misguided met ex JI member
Farihin who in the name of jihad had fought in Afghanistan and
Poso, in Indonesia.
Farihin said: “In 2000, I volunteered to fight in Poso. I attacked
two Christian villages.”
Yusoff is another ex-JI member who was just released from a 10-year
jail sentence for possessing firearm and explosives.
For Yusoff, he heeded the call of jihad by fighting alongside the
MILF in Philippines.
Both are examples of ex-JI members who were once influenced by
radical ideology to a point where armed struggle is seen as
legitimate.
Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, S Rajaratnam School of
International Studies, explained: "To me, the centre of gravity of
this conflict is the ideology, for these individuals who get sucked
into this particular radical movement."
Singapore itself is not immune to radical ideology as seen from
various arrests that have taken place here involving JI
members.
For the first time, the producers were given access to film actual
evidence gathered by security agencies from detained JI
members.
Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng stressed in an interview for
this documentary on the importance of Singaporeans remaining
vigilant.
He said: "The terrorism that we face today takes on a different
shape this time round it is a group of people making use or
misusing religion to perpetuate their cause. We have to adopt a
more holistic plan to counter the problem. We must not allow such
groups like the Al-Qaeda JI and many others to misuse the religion
to affect our social fabric."
He also stressed that the terror threat will not diminish after the
demise of Noordin Top and Azahari Hussin.
The four part documentary series entitled "Misguided" airs every
Friday 8.30pm on Channel NewsAsia starting on Friday.
- CNA/vm