GOMBAK: The occasional issues of race and religion that threaten to boil over in the country is only to be expected in a societal setting such as Malaysia, according to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Home Minister said this was why the government remained cognisant of the sensitivities and security dynamics involving the multiracial society here, and has to be vigilant that such racial or religious sentiments do not ignite further.
Muhyiddin pointed out that while threats to national security come in many facets, the country was not spared by the menace of race and religious extremism, particularly Islamic extremism, due to the misinterpretation of the religion.
“Since the 1970s, there were numerous instances where religion was used as a mean to propagate mistrust among the populace and to undermine the democratically-elected government.
“This was a result of misinterpretation of the Islamic faith according to the ideologies of some interest groups.
“Some of these are Islamic groups operated within the national boundary, but there are others who developed extensive network that transcend national borders,” he said in his speech at the international seminar on religious values in preventing and countering violent extremism, here, today.
Muhyiddin said to address the threat of terrorism and to prevent the ingress of ideologies and extremist threats, Malaysia has taken various steps in line with the current digital era.
Among other things, he noted that the police is collaborating with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to monitor social media for terrorist ideological developments.
Muhyiddin pointed out that as of July 31 this year, 519 terrorists have been arrested by the police, 266 of which were done through the monitoring of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Later in a press conference, the minister explained that the 519 arrested include both locals and foreigners, who have either been charged or are being investigated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 or Prevention of Crime Act 1959.
On a separate development, Muhyiddin said the government was in the midst of developing its National Action Plan (NAP) to Prevent Violent Extremism (PVE), in line with the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) initiative.
“The plan aims to coordinate all efforts to prevent extremist acts of terrorism, that will be carried out by various government agencies and ministries.
“We will refer to the guideline provided by UNDP, and maybe learn from the experiences of other countries which have introduced the plan. But the matter is only at the committee stage currently, and we will continue to discuss,” he said, but declined to provide a timeframe for the completion of the NAP.
