‘Extremist ideologies at institutions worrying’

PETALING JAYA: A survey indicating one out of five university students is inclined towards terrorism has raised concerns.

Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Deputy Comm Datuk Ayob Khan (pic) said this was worrying given the fight against terrorism.

“Not all were involved, but we found lecturers involved in terror groups, like Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Islamic State (IS).

“They use their positions to spread their extremist teachings among students,” he said.

The division has arrested lecturers and students who were involved in terrorist groups over the years, including 22 IS militants, 16 from JI and nine from alQaeda, he added.

DCP Ayob said such cases included exUiTM lecturer Dr Mahmud Ahmad, who fled to the Philippines and set up his own IS cell, but was killed during a gunfight with Philippine forces.

“There have been notorious teachers involved in terrorism.

‘Among them were JI top leaders Dr Azahari Hussein, the Bali bombing in 2002 mastermind, and Nordin Mohd Top,” he said.

“We must explain clearly the twisted and misguided teachings of terrorist groups to curb the spread of their ideology,” he said.

Badrul Hisham, the programme director for Iman Research, a think tank that studies society and religion, said youths are the main demographic for recruitment.

He said university students were “best” because they were not living with their families.

Dr Ahmad El Muhammady, a political science lecturer at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), said countering extremism in Malaysia was based on the belief that there were often small groups vulnerable to manipulation by extreme narratives.

“Awareness on the dangers of extremism should be raised in institutions of higher learning,” he said.

Middle Eastern conflicts have produced ripple effects worldwide, and the narrative of extremism has filled up the vacuum.

“If we don’t make counternarratives, we lose the game and radicalisation will surely spike.

“The spread of virulent ideology is unseen on the surface. That’s what makes it dangerous,” said Dr Ahmad.

Universiti Sains Malaysia psychologist Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat said extremist groups were attractive due to their inclusivity.

“Everyone has a role to play. They make people feel like a part of a family,” she said.