Malaysia implements ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ anti-terror measures

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which came into force globally in 2001. This was initiated by the United Nations from its earlier Suppression of Financing of Terrorism law in 1999.

These laws provided means and procedures to address the threats of terrorism, radicalisation and extremism and allowed for detention and prevention of said threats within Malaysia and globally. Malaysia was also active in engaging in regional and international cooperation to counter the threats of terrorism in Asean and the UN International Conventions and Protocols on combating terrorism. At the UN General Assembly last year, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi pushed forward the implementation of a soft approach to curtail the threats of radicalisation and extremism.

More recently, the authorities have addressed terrorism with a two-pronged approach based on ideology and counterterrorism operations. Over the past year, the Royal Malaysian Police Counter Terrorism Unit has disrupted and captured a large number of terrorist suspects and were able to thwart many planned attacks.

It seems clear that the conventional strategy of countering terrorism-related activities is basically police work and intelligence sharing, which are key focus areas in anti-terror operations.

Malaysia’s international role in actively engaging in various international counterterrorism cooperation initiatives are clear indications of Malaysia’s will to counter these threats from further evolving and destabilising the country. Malaysia’s “hard” and “soft” counterterrorism measures are seen to discourage continued support of its population, especially the youth, for extremism.

Four key elements are needed in countering terrorism: reduction of the threat, readiness for the attack, response with appropriate resources and recovery to restore normal conditions. Other elements, which include social cohesion, prevention, engagement and specific intervention programmes, are core requirements.

Finally, vigilance and continually assessing vulnerabilities in a low-threat environment should be administered.