– Flannery O’Connor

COMMENT Deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim confirmed the possibility of an Islamic State (IS) attack on Malaysian soil on Malaysia Day. While he has also assured Malaysians that we should “have confidence in the police in their capability of handling and monitoring the activities of such groups,” I have no idea how right-thinking Malaysians could have any confidence in our security apparatus.

Even the top cop of the country spends more time on Twitter harassing those who mock Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who has been confirmed by his own official as the Malaysian Official 1 – the man at the centre of one of the biggest corruption scandals the world has witnessed.

After the Puchong terrorist attack, I wrote: “The problem is that Bukit Aman is mismanaging the propaganda war against Islamic militants because:

“1) They seem more interested in the well-being of their political masters.

“2) The police are dealing with mixed signals when it comes to the propaganda that is disseminated to the Muslim-majority polity.

“In this instance, it is the unbridled power of the religious corps who maintain that Islamic dogma is the unifying factor in the Malay community and that the non-Malays are a threat to Muslim hegemony, which ironically does not contradict the messages of Islamic extremist groups like IS and their subsidiaries. Furthermore, a very specific form of Islam is mandated by the Umno state and this, of course, causes complications with the various other sometimes benign Muslims sects.”

The deputy police chief is right when he claims that by attacking soft targets, IS is attempting to make its presence felt here, but the real question is how hard is the Umno state making them feel unwelcome?

This goes back to certain points that Singapore’s Harry Lee (Kuan Yew) said in his extensive interview with Harvard professors, Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill, collected in the book, ‘The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States and the World’. Two cogent points by the former strongman.

1) “Only Muslims can win this struggle.”

2) “I also pointed out that our Muslim leaders are rational and that the ultimate solution to extremist terrorism was to give moderate Muslims the courage to stand up and speak out against radicals who have hijacked Islam to recruit volunteers for their violent ends.”

It is understood that “moderate” Muslims do not have a platform to speak in this country. This is a country where the state attacks concepts such as “liberalism” and all those other Western constructs that they claim will corrupt the pious Muslim majority.

(In case readers are wondering what I mean by “moderate” – “Let me be very clear. There is no empirical evidence to support the claim that there is ‘moderate Islam’. There is only evidence to support the claim that some Muslims believe in secular practices and democracy. The same goes for the other two religions in the Abrahamic mode.”)

The calm before the storm

This is a country where the state has indoctrination courses that not only distorts history but makes the claim that non-Muslim Malaysians are ever ready to usurp the rightful place of Muslims in this country.

Earlier this year, the regime created the “Counter-Extremism Communications Committee in an effort to prevent the spread of Islamic State (or Daesh) militant threats” which includes Jakim, a religious body that over the years has caused the most damage between the various ethnic and religious groups of the country.

Just a couple of months ago I wrote, “In an article questioning if BN a boon for the Islamic state, I wrote, ‘Islam is used as a weapon against any progressive thought, movement or individual, and opposition political parties clamouring for the Malay/Muslim vote ape policies and rhetoric all the while, claiming a difference in policy and methodology.’”

Seriously folks, this is a country where a Pahang mufti could advocate the slaying of people or politicians who were considered infidels. Moreover, nothing happens to him.

Last month the Washington Post ran an opinion piece titled ‘Southeast Asia could be a haven for displaced Islamic State fighters’, which should educate Malaysians of how much trouble this country is in. The signs are all there but as usual, they are lost in the deluge of the latest news of He who is only human.

From the article, “Experts worry about three risk factors that could expand the currently small terrorist network in Southeast Asia: declaration of an Islamic State affiliate in the lawless jungles of the southern Philippines, recruitment of new Islamic State volunteers in the Malaysian army and a jihadist push by released prisoners in Indonesia.”

However, it goes deeper than this. I have written of how for years returning students from the religious institutions in the Middle East have brought with them extremist interpretations of Islam which would complement the efforts of the state propaganda organs of this country but which does nothing to foster national unity or religious harmony.

Alternatively, they are inspired by other forms of Islam that would make them targets for the Umno state that has a monopoly on Islam in this country and now thanks to PAS, a willing collaborator in furthering the perception that Malaysia is an Islamic state and should be governed as such.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi proclaims that the United States has been using techniques adopted by Malaysia to “wipe out such militant activities before they spread to the whole country. The threat of the Islamic State (IS) is real; there were plans to carry out bombings in the country but our police were quick and efficient to foil their attempts.”

Which is all fine and good but history has shown that this is the calm before the storm. No matter how efficient the state security apparatus, there is only so much that can be achieved if there are elements within the state who actively pursue an agenda which is not dissimilar to the aims of groups like IS.

Ultimately, though the question of how much trouble we are in entirely depends on how the Muslim majority of this country reacts to the ideology of extremist groups like the IS or the various splinter groups that have sprung forth from the embers of America imperialism, but more importantly, if Muslims are allowed to express ideas that are anathema to IS and yes, maybe even to Islam.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (RTO) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.