Should we be worried about Malaysian militants?

What motivates a healthy, young man who has everything going for him in life, to leave everything behind and offer himself for a violent cause in a land far away?

It’s a big mystery to me as to why Malaysian men have been flocking to the Middle East to fight in a war that, to me, doesn’t really concern them.

Sure, Muslims are involved in the fighting there and these Malaysianswho are going are also Muslims. But just because Muslims are involved doesn’t mean that it is a holy war.

When I was in Afghanistan, I had a fixer and translator who was a young man in his mid twenties, an intelligent Afghan who was studying law and working as a journalist part time.

Although he was very interested in the current affairs of his country, he was not one to condone violence and war. He thought the pen (and camera) is more powerful.

Shortly after coming back to Malaysia, my fixer friend contacted me via Facebook and told me that his father, a government official, was assassinated.

His country isn’t really developing positively and violence is a regular affair. A young man’s future isn’t necessarily guaranteed to be a bright one.

But he told me that he was doing fine under the circumstances. At the back of my head, I thought, what would hold this guy back from joining a rebel force now?

In a desperate situation like that, I can understand if a young man would leave everything to want to fight in a war (although I hope my fixer friend doesn’t decide to do that).

When I was in Pattani, Southern Thailand, I spoke to young people there who say they feel that they aren’t treated fairly in their own country and economic disparity just hits too hard.

They can’t find proper jobs and making a decent living is difficult. They feel that their region is being oppressed by the federal government and things just aren’t so good.

They can’t practice their religion freely, can’t speak their native language, and are attacked, shot at and even imprisoned for petty reasons.

In a desperate situation and environment like Southern Pattani, I can understand the reasons why a young man would leave everything and choose violence.

Now back to Malaysia and the young men who have so conveniently left home to fight in a war thousands of kilometres away for a cause irrelevant to them.

Could it be a case of extreme 'Islamisation' that has caused these young Malaysian men to feel a certain kinship with their fellow Muslim brethren in the Middle East?

Or could it be the lack of meaning in their lives that they feel they need to make what time they have on this earth matter the most?

Or, could it just mean a quick an easy way for them to reach heaven through jihad and syahid so they don’t have to go through a normal life of servitude to humanity and God?

So yes, we know the effects. But what is the cause? Is it sufficient that the authorities are just warning that action will be taken against those who get involved in violent militant activities?

It remains a mystery. But I’m sure the cause and effect factor has a role here. What is worrying is that there is a significant number of Malaysians driven to militancy and violence.

For now, their focus is towards the Middle East. But looking at how hard core ‘Islamisation’ is happening in our own backyard in these recent years, I’m worried.