Strong intelligence, preventive laws and effective education and rehabilitation programmes are some of the tools that have allowed authorities to clamp down on such activities, according to Bukit Aman’s Counter-Terrorism Division head Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
In an interview with the portal, the anti-terrorism chief said information from both human and online sources was crucial in cracking down on IS.
He said live sources could be recruited to penetrate terrorist cells to collect intelligence, while the monitoring of the internet, especially social media platforms, also provided valuable information.
Ayob added that Malaysia may have an advantage in gathering intelligence on IS as “we are Muslims”.
“It is much easier for us to engage and penetrate because we are speaking the same language,” he was quoted as saying.
He also acknowledged members of the public, noting that many suspects who were arrested at airports were nabbed based on information provided by friends and family members.
Such sources are particularly important as it is difficult for intelligence agencies to crack the encryption technology used by messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram, he added.
Ayob also highlighted laws such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca), the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) and the Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Act 2015 (SMATA).
Although human rights activists have expressed concern that such laws are open to abuse, Ayob said they are sometimes necessary.
“Sometimes when we want to carry out operations, we do not have enough evidence to charge them.
“But if you have evidence, the disruption part must be done – you must disrupt them so they don’t carry out attacks in Malaysia,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Channel NewsAsia, 101 of some 346 suspects detained between 2013 and October 2017 were convicted under the Penal Code.
Forty-four were detained under Poca while 26 were detained under Pota.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s rehabilitation programme for terrorists involved in groups like Jemaah Islamiyah has recorded a 97% success rate, leading authorities to implement similar strategies on those held for links to IS, the report said.
Ayob told the portal that police were working with religious authorities and education institutions to combat the spread of the “salafi jihadi” ideology.
“We need efforts by our religious authorities to explain to the public about the misinterpretation, the misquotation of certain al-Quran verses,” he said, adding that there may be a need to include modules in school curriculums to address the dangers of extremism.
According to the report, IS-linked arrests this year alone in Malaysia have climbed to 20 times the number in 2013.
Ayob said 109 individuals were arrested in 2016, compared to four in 2013.
He said many Muslims who joined IS believed they would die a martyr, while others were looking for a “short-cut” to heaven as they were facing social problems such as extra-marital activities.
Still others believe they are combating the alleged atrocities against Sunni Muslims in areas like Syria and Iraq, while some think that Malaysia is not “Islamic enough”.