Kuala Lumpur feels the heat of terrorism

Pavin Chachavalpongpun, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok

The headlines stamped across the front pages of Malaysian newspapers for the past week have read: Scare for Thailand; Crisis in Muslim South; Terrorism resurrected in Thailand. They sensationally reported that "six policemen and soldiers were killed and 20 schools burned in coordinated strikes, and more than 100 assault rifles and handguns were looted from military stockpiles".

The underlying tone of these reports reveals not only that terrorism has found a home in this peaceful Buddhist nation, but that Malaysia feels the terrorist threat in Southeast Asia as real and palpable. As such, it is worried about the domino effect, which could transport devastation and violence across the border.

Early speculation was that the Thai separatist group Mujahideen Pattani (MP) was behind last week's attacks in the South, with assistance from outsiders, possibly from the Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia (KMM). Gen. Kitti Rattanachaya, the new security adviser, explained: "They were comrades-in-arms in Afghanistan." The KMM probably offered moral, ideological or tactical support for the terrorist acts in Thailand.

The KMM is linked to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which was responsible for the bombings in Bali in October 2002. Even though some leading members of JI are now behind bars in Malaysia, the insurgency in Thailand reaffirms that its infrastructure in the region remains intact. Malaysia is now keeping a watchful eye on what may happen in its own backyard and looking at how to create a new security environment for itself.

The fear in this Asian nation is understandable. Rohan Gunaratna, of the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, has revealed that the next batch of JI recruits is due to graduate from Camp Hodeibiya in the Philippines on Jan. 15. This could presage a state of terror in Asia, an area becoming more vulnerable to periodic attacks since JI decided that the West is no longer their sole target.

Moreover, hardcore Muslim terrorists who have dispersed from Afghanistan and Pakistan following the U.S.'s "sweeping operation" tend to relocate themselves in lawless zones in many parts of the world, including Asia. The South of Thailand and the deep jungles of Malaysia provide ideal logistic bases for terrorist groups.

The violence in Thailand has forced Malaysia to take cautious steps concerning its relationship with the U.S. To terrorists, the U.S. is the number-one enemy, one they successfully confronted on Sept. 9. But the U.S.'s recent extreme security measures have only hardened their opponents. Thus, the threat has shifted to allies and friends of the U.S.

Thailand has recently strengthened its ties with the U.S. Bangkok's decision to dispatch troops for the reconstruction effort in Iraq and its intelligence cooperation which led to the arrest of Hambali in Ayutthaya last year loudly pronounce that terrorism is intolerable on Thai soil.

The price of being a staunch ally with the U.S. is indeed high. Thailand has become the latest victim of terrorism, suffering from a new wave of threats that have the side-effect of sparking religious conflict (between dominant Buddhists and the Muslim minority) and harming tourism.

To reduce the risk of being the next target, Malaysia has sent reinforcements to the Thai border and offered assistance to Thailand. "All army posts along our common border between Kelantan and Narathiwat have been instructed to increase vigilance on border crossings," said Najib Razak, Malaysia's defense minister.

In a separate interview, Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin hinted that the government's move was a preventive action to ensure that suspected members of insurgent groups do not cross into Malaysia. Joint cooperation will also include the revival of military patrols along the border, last conducted when they were fighting the communists many decades ago.

These are the political and military strategies being launched as part of Malaysia building a self-protective wall against outside terrorism. A more cunning psychological strategy is portrayed through repeated reports on nationwide television about the flare-up in southern Thailand, emphasizing to its own people that the alarming terrorist threat is at arm's length.

But dealing with suspected terrorist groups already located in Malaysia may prove difficult. Malaysia is standing at the crossroads of two extremely different approaches in dealing with Muslim extremists. One is to alienate them, as clearly shown in the case of Thailand.

Poverty and economic deprivation in the four southern Thai provinces have partly triggered the recent Muslim insurgency. There is little investment in the South and thus local Thai Muslims have remained rural and poor. Though the government assigned a famous Muslim MP, Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, as Interior Minister as a symbol of recognition of Muslims in the country's political and social life, this has failed to inculcate a sense of religious harmony.

The other option for the Malaysian government is a more compromising approach. The unwillingness to offend members of JI is related not only to the fact that terrorist acts are unwanted in Malaysia, but that the government does not want any more political complications prior to the next general election, likely to be held in the next few months.

Malaysia has learned a great deal from the atrocious incidents in the South. It has been prudent in maintaining a clean image of "friend of the Muslim world". Amid this positive stance, however, one question remains fundamental. Will this help cure the root of terrorism so deeply entrenched in Southeast Asia today?