Malaysia refused US request for custody of 13 JI-linked youths

 

KUALA LUMPUR: In 2003 Malaysia brought home 13 Jemaah Islamiyah-linked youths arrested in Pakistan, rejecting a United States (US) request for custody, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said.

In a Facebook post, Ayob Khan said the move highlights Malaysia's long-standing approach to counter-terrorism, combining strict preventive laws with rehabilitation for militants who are still young enough to be reformed.

The youths were part of the Al-Ghuraba cell, a group created by the leadership of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in the mid-1990s to train the next generation of militants.

The children of JI members were sent to study in Pakistan and to receive military training at camps linked to Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Lashkar-e-Toiba in Kashmir.

JI, founded in 1993, is a Southeast Asian militant group with links to Al-Qaeda that sought to establish a conservative Islamic state in the region.It was banned in 2008 after a string of attacks, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.

Pakistani authorities arrested the 13 Malaysians in Karachi in September 2003, aged between 16 and 25, on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities.

They were believed to have planned to infiltrate Afghanistan during semester breaks for further training.

The US asked Pakistan to hand the youths over for detention at Guantanamo Bay, citing their links to Al-Qaeda. But Malaysia chose a different path.

In November 2003, then Special Branch director Datuk Yusof Rahaman led a delegation to Pakistan to negotiate their return.

After several rounds of talks with Pakistani security officials in Islamabad, the youths were handed over to Malaysia and flown back on a special aircraft on Dec 9, 2003.

"They were young and impressionable," Ayob Khan said. "We believed the best way to protect society was to rehabilitate them, not just imprison them."

Ayob Khan also shared seven photos of the negotiating team in Pakistan and on the aircraft bringing back members of the JI-linked cell.

Upon their return, all 13 were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) but placed in a special rehabilitation programme. Three were issued detention orders, four were placed under restriction orders, and four were released without conditions.

The Special Branch provided private tuition to those under detention or restriction to prepare for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

Four achieved excellent results and entered public universities, one continued at a private college, and the rest entered business or became self-employed.

"Our rehabilitation programme worked because it addressed ideology, education and future opportunities," Ayob Khan said. "We did not just lock them away."

The approach, he added, depended on the preventive power of the ISA. "Without laws like the ISA, we would not have been able to detain and rehabilitate them properly."

The ISA was a law that allowed authorities to detain people without trial if they were deemed a threat to national security. It was mainly used against suspected militants, communist insurgents and political opponents.

The ISA was repealed in 2012 after years of criticism from human rights groups and activists. Under the law, detention could be continued without trial.

Malaysia's programme has been praised regionally, with foreign agencies studying its methods. "Other countries come to learn from us," he said. "Our model is among the best in the world."

The case is often cited as evidence of Malaysia's holistic counter-terrorism strategy, combining tough enforcement with efforts to reintegrate former militants into society.

"We do not treat terrorism as a crime alone," Ayob Khan said. "We treat it as an ideology that must be replaced."

Ayob Khan's revelations come after His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, urged urgent new laws on national security and external threats, warning that modern risks could undermine social stability. - NST