19 terror plots crippled in Malaysia – Nur Jazlan

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian police and other security apparatus have disrupted up to 19 terror plots in the country between 2013 and 2017, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed revealed yesterday.

In the same period, he said, a total of 369 suspected Daesh militants, including 87 foreigners, had been arrested.

Nur Jazlan said the grenade attack at the Movida bar in Puchong in June 2016 was considered the first Daesh-linked attack in Malaysia, which was an apt reminder of the reality of modern terrorism.

"Thankfully, it did not result in any deaths, and the perpetrators were arrested and sentenced to jail.

"Conflicts that are happening thousands of miles away can have very real repercussions on our security back home," he said when delivering the Malaysian country statement at the Putrajaya International Security Dialogue (PISD) 2018 here.

Nur Jazlan said the time had come for the international community to review the current approach to combating terrorism.

“Instead of being reactive, it would be much wiser to take on proactive steps in ensuring that the seeds of extremism are stamped out,” he said, adding that Malaysia had mooted the idea of offering a moderate religious interpretation particularly in dealing with Daesh.

"The heavy-handed approach, which may seem effective in the short term, does not address the core issues of terrorism, which is just as much as a war against criminals and terrorists as it is for the hearts and minds, a battle of competing ideologies," he said.

Nur Jazlan said counselling and re-education, as well as religious leaders and experts’ involvement in correcting and countering the perverted views of Islam to terror convicts, was an effective tool in de-racialising them.

"It would also turn former convicts into key propagators in countering Daesh’s propaganda and ideology," he said.

Meanwhile, Mehmet Mehdi Eker, representative of the Turkish president, in his country statement, said terrorism could only be addressed through effective international cooperation.

He said Turkey believed in forming a collective approach to global security threats, and contributed to international efforts in the fight against terrorism. – Bernama