Malaysia ready to enhance cooperation with like-minded countries in counter-terrorism

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is ready to further enhance cooperation with like-minded countries in counter terrorism efforts, including developing counter-narratives and relevant programmes as part of initiatives to combat terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.
"We must stand together in condemning the heinous and abhorrent acts of violence and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations.
"Therefore it is prevalent for us to take the concerted efforts to obliterate their threats, and to counter their deviated and delusional narratives," he said at the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition Against Daesh in Kuwait City, Kuwait on Tuesday. His speech text was made available here today.
The Global Coalition against Daesh was established in September 2014 based on the global concern over Daesh and the threat it poses to international peace and security.
The coalition has 71 members including Malaysia and four institutions, namely the Arab League, Interpol, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and the European Union.
Anifah told the meeting that Malaysia held the values of moderation or wasatiyyah as one of the fundamentally crucial approaches in deradicalisation efforts and in countering Daesh's distorted narratives.
He pointed out that after its defeat in the newly-liberated areas of Iraq and Syria, Daesh now had moved their focus and initiated as well as plotted several terrorist attacks, perhaps with new methods and might have shifted their focus to other parts of the world, including South East Asia.
He said the loss of territory would certainly make digital and virtual communications more important for them to spread their false ideology and distorted narratives around the world.
Anifah said Malaysia undertook a proactive stance by implementing preventive measures, premised on the country's comprehensive legal framework and international law, as well as the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
"Such a legal framework, followed by strong enforcements through their soft and hard approaches, has shown tangible results.
"These efforts have undermined the various terrorist attempts against the security of the country and the safety of the people," he said.
Anifah also pointed out that the record showed that Malaysia's integrated radicalisation programme had achieved a tremendously high success rate with the majority of the terrorists and extremists now being fully rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. — Bernama