Fall of Afghanistan to Taliban: Lessons for Malaysia

 

While Malaysians were devouring news about the political tussle and the impending resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Aug 15, the US-backed government in Afghanistan collapsed, with President Ashraf Ghani fleeing and the Taliban taking control again.

It happened almost 20 years after the US invaded Afghanistan, and just weeks ahead of the planned pullout of American troops. There is fear that Afghanistan will return to the “dark ages” and that women will become the main victims of the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam.

There are lessons to be drawn, as in all such events, for Malaysia in the fall of Afghanistan and the triumph of the Taliban.

There are many reasons for the shockingly fast collapse of the Afghan government. What comes immediately to mind is the withdrawal of US forces but the fact is, if the government had been strong, it should not have fallen.

Below I look at a few reasons:

• Corruption was one major reason why the government was weak. Afghanistan scored only 19 out of 100 points in Transparency International’s latest corruption perceptions index.

There are numerous reports about how badly corruption had seeped into all aspects of government, including by business integrity groups. Even to have electricity and water connections, according to some reports, businesses had to grease the palms of officials.

Even to get government aid, you had to bribe officials, resulting in poor families not getting the aid they desperately needed. Corruption in the police force was high. In a 2019 interview, Afghanistan’s police chief Khoshal Sadat told Reuters: “There is corruption in the (interior) ministry – those earning from contracts, food, fuel. But there is also corruption outside – taking money from hotels, shops, highways.”

The report also noted that for years the government had been paying the salaries of 800 policemen who did not exist. There was also no proper audit on police and interior ministry assets. But we have to remember that the police were poorly paid, although that is not an excuse to accept bribes.

One report said the US Congress was told in April 2019 that corruption was the foremost issue stunting restoration efforts.

Corruption had eaten into the very vitals of the government, the public service and uniformed agencies and it’s no surprise why many soldiers and policemen melted into the background or allowed easy passage to the advancing Taliban militia.

Lesson: Corruption can ruin a nation. It is therefore important to redouble our efforts to eradicate corruption. Malaysia scored 51 out of 100 in Transparency International’s 2020 corruption perception index, and although that’s much better than Afghanistan’s score it’s still a poor score.

We have all the necessary laws but what good are they if there is no proper enforcement? What good are they if people perceive inconsistencies in enforcement?

• The speedy takeover of the country by the Taliban, with less than 100,000 fighters, shows that neither the 350,000 strong military nor the 180,000 police put up a credible fight. There may be many reasons for this: poor pay and benefits, incompetency, poor training, loss of will, and lack of discipline, among them.

Lesson: Our authorities must assess the Afghan situation and address any shortcoming that we may have. I understand, for instance, that funding for the military’s operational expenses is a problem. The government must rectify this, as the defence of the nation should be a priority even in peacetime.

It is important to ensure our policemen and soldiers have decent salaries and adequate training, including refresher courses. The best way for the government to care for the welfare of soldiers is to give them adequate training to keep themselves fit and capable of surviving in the event of a conflict or war. For that, funding is important.

There is a need for better enforcement to cut down on graft in the police force and the police leadership must not tolerate any form of corruption within its ranks. It should also act professionally and not allow political interference in its work.

• The fact that the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan means the possibility of more drugs flowing out of that country.

Opium is Afghanistan’s biggest cash crop and the US inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction has estimated that it’s worth between US$1.5 billion and US$3 billion a year. The Taliban’s war effort was funded from the sale of opium and heroin and it is likely that its administrative effort will be funded by the sale of these drugs too.

So our army, the police, customs, immigration and drug enforcement agencies must step up efforts to monitor the situation and prevent these drugs from entering the country. Malaysia has been unsuccessfully battling the drug problem for decades and the situation could get worse if more and cheaper drug supplies arrive.

Here again, the problem is enforcement. If enforcement is enhanced, more Malaysians can be saved from the drug menace.

• Another factor for the collapse of the Afghan government was the US withdrawal. Many Afghans, especially those who supported the US-backed government, are understandably upset. It’s certain that some of them will be hunted down by the Taliban for collaborating with the “enemy”.

The Afghan government was too dependent on handouts and aid from the US; it didn’t learn to stand on its own feet.

Also, nations that were supportive of the US-backed government, such as India and Australia, may now find it difficult dealing with the Taliban and this could impact their economic engagement with Afghanistan.

Lesson: Although we don’t have a foreign military presence in our nation, we do have pacts and understandings with various countries. In all our dealings with other nations – whether the US or China or whatever – we should be careful not to be overdependent. We should stay neutral as far as practical, and I use the word “practical” advisedly.

• Reports say that many Afghans are fearful of what the Taliban will do now that they have taken over the country again. The Taliban are not exactly well liked by people in democracies and many nations see them as terrorists.

Lesson: Malaysia has had problems with terrorists, most recently with Islamic State-inspired radicals. It is possible that the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan may inspire some local radicals to emulate the militants. There’s now more reason for our intelligence agencies to be on their toes.

The authorities must be alert to people going to Afghanistan for training in militancy or for Afghans who come here to spread their ideology.

Let’s not forget what happened after the initial successes of the Islamic State. Quite a number of Muslims from Malaysia and Indonesia went to Syria and Iraq to fight for the militants and quite a number of sympathisers were sending money or getting involved in underground activities at home.

These are just some of the lessons for us from what’s happening in Afghanistan. I hope those in authority will learn from these and other lessons and nip possible problems in the bud. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.