An important aspect of the deradicalisation programme for terrorists is the emphasis on the welfare of the detainees and their families, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

In most cases, the detainees are the bread winners of the family, and their detention would certainly affect the livelihood of their families, he said.

"The government has ensured that assistance is extended to the families involved to ease their burden.

"This has proven to be one of the vital factors that have contributed to the success of the deradicalisation initiatives," he said.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said that in the post-release programme, assistance and support were provided to ensure that the released detainees could continue living without succumbing to extremism.

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He said the success rate of the deradicalisation programme was around 97.5 per cent.

"Engagement is a crucial element of the government's policy and the programmes are designed to win the hearts and minds of the target groups with the aim to neutralise or to win them over," he said.

Deradicalistion involves methods and techniques adopted to undermine and reverse the completed radicalisation process to reduce the potential risk to society from terrorism.

In sharing the country's experience, Ahmad Zahid said the 'soft' approach of deradicalisation was based on the modification and adaptation of the methods used during the insurgency.

Citing Malaysia's approach on this matter, he said it had been recognised that behind the success of the war against the insurgency was the deradicalisation programmes and counter-radicalisation strategy undertaken by the government.

The Memali incident (in 1985), the Al-Maunah fiasco (2000), the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (2001) and the intrusion by Sulu militants at Lahad Datu (2013) are among the major threats the country faced from radical and religious extremists as well as terrorists allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda.

Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia was willing to share its integrated module in the rehabilitation of terrorists with other countries. He also said that the programme had been translated into three languages - English, Arabic and French.

"Malaysia maintains the view that the mere use of the penalty and criminalisation approach will not solve the problem of extremism, and the blending of the soft approach and conventional methods offer a better alternative," he said.

Ahmad Zahid also said that Malaysia had initiated the Regional Digital Counter Messaging Communication Centre aimed at synchronising efforts to counter radical social media messages and present the true image of Islam.

"Malaysia believes that an important strategy to counter violent Islamic extremism is to remove distortions and lies about religion, retelling the narrative of Islam to convey the clear message," he said.

He said the advancement of information communication technology had created a borderless world and benefited the international community.

However, the same technology had also been abused by criminals and terrorists for propagating their ideologies, recruiting vulnerable young people for wrongful purposes, and executing terror attacks.

Ahmad Zahid said they used Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, email, WhatsAppp and Telegram as an avenue to indoctrinate and spread the twisted message of hatred.

"Malaysia continues to monitor terrorist narratives through all channels and media aimed at denying extremist proponents from the means and opportunities to pursue their activities and promote misconstrued ideologies," he said. -- Bernama

(The above is the second of two stories extracted from articles by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the latest edition of the Journal of Public Security and Safety.)