White Paper proves govt's seriousness in tackling IS threat - Academicians

The tabling of the White Paper by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to address the Islamic State threat and which was passed by Parliament today proves the government's seriousness in preventing the militant group's ideology from spreading in this country.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's geostrategy lecturer, Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said the time had come for Malaysia to have a new law to prevent the involvement of its citizens in militancy and terrorism.

"A new law is necessary with a new form of threat like this, considering the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) and Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA) are insufficient to check the menace.

"This is because there are Malaysians who go to other countries to commit acts of violence, hence there is a need for preventive measures to tackle the problem," he said when contacted today.

When tabling the White Paper, Najib said the government appealed for public support towards preventing the ideology of the IS militant group from taking root in this country and he also proposed a new law to prevent Malaysians from being involved in such destructive activities.

Najib said the government planned to table the new law at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.

In this regard, Azmi said the members of Parliament should do some homework by studying the White Paper thoroughly to avoid making statements not based on facts during the debate.

Sharing Azmi's views is lecturer Md Shukri Shuib from Universiti Utara Malaysia's School of Politics and International Studies, who said that the tabling of the White Paper showed the government's serious commitment to stem the threat of militancy in this country.

Md Shukri said all quarters including the opposition in Parliament should fully support this government effort and the proposed new law in tackling the problem.

"Strengthening the country's defence and security involves all members of our society including the opposition parties, so they (opposition) must back this effort by the government," he said.

Md Shukri said that in drawing up the new law, the government needed to consider the problem of militancy in the country and internationally, hence the new law should be applicable for the long term and not short term.

Constitutional expert from the International Islamic University Malaysia, Assoc Prof Dr Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz said the measure taken by the government was apt and timely, as the IS movement was hiding behind Islamic teachings and giving Islam a bad name.

She said the government's stand on the issue had now taken on a legislative form to curb Malaysians' involvement with militant groups like the IS.

Shamrahayu said the proposed strengthening of existing laws like SOSMA, POCA and the Penal Code to deal with the threats of militancy and terrorism as stated in the White Paper, showed the government's willingness to fight all forms of violence on all fronts.

"With the move, we will be able to better control, curb and penalise Malaysians involved in militancy and terrorism," she said.