Supporters of the Islamic State have identified several countries in this region as their territory, and analysts expect more incidents of violence and sectarian conflict to occur.
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Jasminder Singh, a senior analyst at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told The Straits Times (ST) he had noticed “chatter on social media” this month singling out specific countries as part of the wilayah.
The other nations identified by the IS as part of this East Asia Wilayah are: Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, southern Thailand, Myanmar and Japan.
“For foreign fighters coming into the region, this gives them an idea of what they will be in for, and what the targets are,” Jasminder was quoted by the ST as saying yesterday.
The report quoted other security analysts as saying this could embolden self-radicalised individuals to carry out attacks here, especially if they were unable to travel to the Middle East to fight.
It is estimated that there are more than 1,000 Southeast Asians fighting with the IS in Iraq and Syria, with another 2,000 to 3,000 camp followers.
Malaysian police have arrested more than a hundred suspected IS militants and supporters over the past couple of years.
In January, Special Branch counter-terrorism division principal assistant director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay was quoted as saying that 122 suspects had been charged and that police had secured 62 convictions. Also, he said, 38 suspected militants or supporters had been detained under the Prevention of Crime Act and 18 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
He said police were aware of 60 Malaysians fighting in Syria for Islamic groups.
In February, police arrested six foreigners and one Malaysian suspected of involvement with Islamic terrorist groups.
A grenade attack on a food and beverage outlet in Puchong in June last year wounded eight people, with the IS claiming responsibility for it. It was the first IS attack on Malaysian soil.
The ST report said the terrorism threat facing Singapore was at the highest level in recent years, with the country seeing a steady trickle of self-radicalised individuals.
On Tuesday, the Singapore ministry of home affairs announced that two Singaporean auxiliary police officers were arrested for terrorism-related offences under the Internal Security Act. Last week, the ministry revealed that infant care assistant Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, 22, had been detained as she had planned to travel to Syria with her child to become a “martyr’s widow”.
The ST report quoted Remy Mahzam, associate research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, as saying an indication of the boundaries of a future wilayah could prompt self-radicalised individuals who faced difficulty in travelling to Syria to carry out attacks in the region instead.
Associate Professor Antonio Rappa, who heads the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ management and security studies programme, warned that Singapore should be more worried about attacks by “lone wolves and small groups of terrorists”, who could enter the country from Malaysia or Indonesia.
He told the ST that developments in the region – such as the ongoing attacks by IS militants in Marawi, the Philippines – would “increase the confidence level” of would-be terrorists.
In a paper published last week, Jasminder warned that there was a possibility that IS militants returning from the Middle East could regroup in the Philippines, and that they would tie-up with existing local Islamic militant groups such as the Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines.
This, he warned, could lead to increased violence and sectarian conflict in Southeast Asia.
Jasminder said in the paper: “It has become clear that no one state can manage the threat posed by the IS. It will require regional and international cooperation, including the need to get assistance from Turkey and Iraq to send captured local fighters back for charges.
Jasminder said in the paper: “It has become clear that no one state can manage the threat posed by the IS. It will require regional and international cooperation, including the need to get assistance from Turkey and Iraq to send captured local fighters back for charges.
“To begin with, states would need strong legislation to criminalise citizens fighting for terrorist groups, involvement in war or military operations other than for national purpose, and even pledging of loyalty to another state an act of betrayal and crime.” -FMT
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