Face of terror: A still from the video clip showing Mohd Rafi delivering his message
PETALING JAYA: Amid a string of suicide bombings in numerous countries, a terrorism expert has warned that these Islamic State (IS) attacks were just the beginning in South-East Asia.
The grenade attack on a pub in Selangor was a warning sign, said Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict.
“As IS comes under more pressure in the Middle East, it wants to see more attacks elsewhere,” Jones told The Jakarta Post.
The IS has also sent a message to Malaysian police, warning them of an “all out attack”.
“To those of you in Bukit Aman, know that you will not remain peaceful any longer. We will return to attack you or our friends over there will cut off your necks,” said Mohd Rafi.
The clip showed glimpses of weapons and IS recruits in training at an undisclosed location.
Among others, Mohd Rafi also called on his “friends in Malaysia” to start carrying out attacks soon.
Malaysian police nationwide are on high alert following the terror threats made against them.
Security had been heightened everywhere including Bukit Aman, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
“Other than the videos released by IS, we also get threats from them in other ways. We are not taking these lightly,” he said.
Noor Rashid was commenting on the IS propaganda video in which Mohd Rafi, alongside an Indonesian and Filipino, were seen beheading a prisoner each.
He said police had been monitoring Mohd Rafi’s movements for years since his days with the radical Kumpulan Militan Malaysia in 1998.
“He was detained for a few years under the Internal Security Act until 2006. After his release, he worked as a taxi driver in Cheras,” he said, adding that he was married with five children.
He left for Syria in 2014 and joined IS, using the name Abu ‘Awn al-Malizi.
Asked about the freeze on leave for policemen in the country, Noor Rashid said that this was the usual move during holiday seasons.
“It is a 90% freeze for Hari Raya, not a 100% freeze and not because of the threats,” he said.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, said: “We have to assist the police, not undermine them,” adding that terrorism had no place in Islam.
Meanwhile, the counter-terrorism division of Special Branch acknowledged that it was shocking to see Mohd Rafi beheading a captive in the video.
“There is a possibility he was brainwashed to a point where he could behead someone to give him credibility so he could be elected as the head of the Malaysian contingent in Syria,” said Datuk Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay, who is the division head.
Speaking to South China Morning Post, he said: “For Rafi to slaughter someone this way shows how drastically he has changed in a short period of time. The ramifications of this video are huge.
“This could possibly encourage IS sympathisers in Malaysia to carry out beheadings here,” Ayub Khan said.
He also cautioned that the potential targets of attacks were night spots, police, government buildings and strategic assets.
Assoc Prof Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Singapore, said that this suggested the dehumanising effects of IS’ ideology was taking root among the South-East Asian fighters in Syria.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/07/06/expert-blasts-are-just-the-beginning-under-pressure-in-mideast-is-plans-more-attacks-elsewhere/
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