ICC Note: Defense Minister of Malaysia Mohamad Sabu, believes terrorism is the top security risk facing Malaysia. Southeast Asian nations need to work together in order to combat this growing threat, as extremism is rapidly spreading throughout the region.  

06/28/2018 Malaysia (Channel News Asia) – Malaysia Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, also known as Mat Sabu, believes terrorism is the number one security risk facing the country.

In an interview with Channel NewsAsia, he said Southeast Asian nations need to band together to combat this threat.

“We have terrorists in ASEAN, like those involved in the Bali bombings, as well as other citizens from countries in ASEAN,” he said.

“We have to cooperate with each other to combat this issue … through psychology, through education and of course through (the sharing of) any information from Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand…”

The previous Barisan Nasional government had arrested hundreds of people for alleged terrorist links. Authorities said they had foiled more than a dozen attacks in recent years too aside from the launching of a grenade that injured eight people at the Movida bar in 2016. Two individuals were each sentenced to 25 years’ jail over the attack.

To curb the spread of extremism, Mat Sabu believes religious and civic education is important.

“At the same time, we have the army, police, and other security forces ever ready to face all the threats to the security of Malaysia,” he said.

The minister said one regional effort forged under the previous government that will continue is the joint air and sea patrols between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia in the Sulu Sea.

The waters are known as a hotbed for piracy and have been used by terrorists to travel between the borders of the three nations.

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