Rohingya row - a rabbit hole we should cease burrowing into

“Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.”

- Oscar Wilde, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’

If you are easily “triggered”, please stop reading this article. The cause célèbre amongst ethno-nationalists and liberal types is the plight of the Rohingya refugees. In the former, their support is based on religious solidarity (with the exception of the ruling elite, more on that later), and the latter, as a means to dispel perceptions that they are Islamophobic (the quote that begins this piece is aimed at this group).

Both sides are hypocritical and are a danger to the security of this country where race and religion are used to bolster support in diverse political bases and external stimuli could be the basis of homegrown terrorism.

Those interested should read my piece here, where I alluded to the regional implications, not to mention the hypocrisy of the Umno regime when it comes to the “plight” of the Rohingyas – “The plight of the Rohingya is more than just misery porn from Umno and PAS political elites. To treat it as just another propaganda tactic to bolster Malay/Muslim solidarity and detract from financial scandals hides the very real security issues this country faces.”

The reality is that the Rohingya issue is essentially an issue of identity politics, political and religious malfeasance. There have been numerous “oppressed” peoples who have sought shelter in this country and because they were not “Muslims” they offered no political or religious capital. What we are dealing with here is not solely a question of humanitarian crisis, but especially in Malaysia, the more important question of regional stability.

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed, explained that Malaysia was willing to accept more refugees but was concerned of the possible influx of “sympathisers to the militants”.

This kind of double speak is mendacious; on the one hand, we have state-sanctioned operatives wanting the Umno state to expel Myanmar’s diplomats and citizens and on the other, the acknowledgment (by the state) that armed resistance against the Myanmar regime is something that the Umno regime is concerned about. This kind of balancing act is what emboldens extremists who have always viewed Malaysia as a transit point for regional and global terrorism.

Nur Jazlan is only half right though. While the possible influx of seasoned combatants is something the government and the people of Malaysia should be worried about, the more important question is the radicalisation of refugees that come here for sanctuary but find themselves pawns in a domestic game of Islamic one-upmanship, and of course, the greater international Islamic extremism with designs on this region.

Add to this the radical homegrown elements that use Malaysia as a base of operations and who have successfully managed to radicalise disenfranchised youths (here and abroad), and you have a possible cocktail of violence that threatens to consume not only the country but the region. Think about this for a moment.

Vortex of hate and violence

When we hear of “foreign” fighters fighting for the caliphate, we view Malaysians as dupes who for whatever moronic reasons are sucked into a religious vortex of hate and violence which is anathema to most people in this country. The reality is that there is a growing trend of Malaysians who are power brokers in these death cults, who use the “oppression” of their brethren as an excuse to wage holy war in foreign lands.

Take this case, for instance. The New York Times ran a fascinating piece – ‘He aimed to fight in Syria. ISIS had a broader plan: Southeast Asia’ – about a young Indonesian (Yoki Pratama Windyarto) who was recruited by a Malaysian (Mahmud Ahmad) and was eventually “martyred” in the Philippines.

“Dr Mahmud appears to be senior to anyone operating in Indonesia, meaning whatever the intergroup frictions, all recognise a chain of command within the ISIS hierarchy that they are obliged to obey by virtue of their oath,” the report says.

So, this idea that the authorities and some groups wish to play up that people involved in terrorist activities here in Malaysia are merely misinformed or taken up by “ajaran sesat” is false. This deflects from the real issue of that there are extremists in the country who are not only enablers of terrorism but also proactive in recruiting and waging war on behalf of their Islamic State (IS) masters in foreign lands.

Furthermore, we have a huge undocumented Bangladeshi population here in Malaysia and this too should be of concern because homegrown Bangladeshi extremist groups have also shown interest in fighting for their Rohingya brethren. So, while the state frets of the possible influx of militant sympathisers, what about the Bangladeshi sympathisers who could already have deep roots in this country?

What of the radicalised Indonesian terror cells operating here and in Indonesia? Is it not possible, even inevitable, that these not-so-disparate groups would find commonality in waging war against various countries in the region, inviting violent retribution which would engulf Malaysia and disrupt the peace and stability that we are always warned not to take advantage of?

Next target - China

Then of course, there is the China angle.

Recently the Foreign Policy magazine reported that the IS pledged to attack China next – “The Islamic State is now setting its sights on China, releasing on Monday a half-hour video in which they pledged to ‘shed blood like rivers’ in attacks against Chinese targets. Experts say it’s the first threat the terrorist organisation has levelled against China.

“‘Oh, you Chinese who do not understand what people say. We are the soldiers of the Caliphate, and we will come to you to clarify to you with the tongues of our weapons, to shed blood like rivers and avenging the oppressed,’ an Islamic State fighter said in the video, which was analysed and translated by US-based SITE Intelligence Group. The video showed fighters, including heavily-armed children, praying, giving speeches, and executing suspected informants.”

The idea that the IS is going to make Southeast Asia as the main theatre of operations is widely acknowledged in intelligence circles and security agencies regionally and internationally. We have to remember that the region provides ample opportunities based on religious and ethno conflicts for the Islamic state to latch on to.

What does this mean for a country like Malaysia? With the Najib regime making deals with China – for the record unlike many others, I have no problems with these deals – this makes the situation of coddling Islamic extremism on one hand and attempting to restrain Islamic extremism on the other, a very stupid strategy.

China has its own issues with its indigenous Muslim population and the call for jihad is already heard in China, and in Malaysia you can bet your last ringgit that the slaves of these death cults would not make a distinction between PRC interests and Chinese Malaysian interests.

It definitely means that PRC interests here in Malaysia could be soft targets for Islamic extremist groups or their outsourced thugs to wage a proxy war against PRC in this country. It means that we have to be extremely wary of committing ourselves to situations where the blowback could be disastrous to the majority of the citizens of this country.

This regime has to realise that Muslim refugees in this country could be prey to homegrown extremists and the other disparate militant foreign communities which the state coddles by virtue of their religious beliefs.

Failure to understand this is more damaging to the country than the 1MDB scandal.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. - Mkini