Claiming that a hardline approach could stoke more extremism, Nur Jazlan said the softer approach has paid of for the country, TODAY Online reported.
“A purely hard approach in the fight against terrorism would not really work. In fact, it will breed a new generation of radical Muslims,” he told the Singapore daily, adding that Malaysia’s approach encompasses legal and rehabilitative measures as well as a public awareness programme on the dangers of militancy.
Explaining the basic workings of the deradicalisation programme, Nur Jazlan said it was key to separate the militants according to the severity of their extremist views.
“The detainees are assessed by experts including counsellors and psychiatrists on the level of their radicalisation before being put on the programme.
“They are then grouped together by that criteria and undergo counselling sessions, with each session conducted over four to seven days for groups of up to 10 detainees. Separately, family members will also be given counselling and educated on religious values.
“The reason for roping in the families was to emphasise to the detainees how Islamic militant activities can severely affect their loved ones. This helps them to be more accepting of the programme and let go of their radicalised beliefs,” he was quoted as saying by TODAY.
He added that the detainees are not jailed in any specific detention centre, but just in prisons.
“However, they are separated from other prisoners to stem any attempts at radicalising others,” Nur Jazlan was quoted as saying.
Malaysia has tough laws to deal with terrorism, including the Special Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) and Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota). Both have been used to detain suspected militants in the country, including those who had returned to the country after going to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS).
According to TODAY, some counter-terrorism experts have compared Malaysia’s deradicalisation approach to that of Britain’s “united front”, in the fight against the Communist insurgency in Malaya and Singapore in the 1940s. That too, saw the involvement of both security forces and the public.
Malaysia had previously boasted of the success of its deradicalisation approach to countering terrorism, with Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reportedly saying last month that the programme has had a success rate of 97.5%.
According to the home ministry, about 240 detainees have been deradicalised in the past 10 years.
The deputy minister admitted one of the main aspects of the programme is to also help these former militants get gainful employment after they are successfully rehabilitated.
The report noted that they are given vocational training, including electrical and handicraft making skills, to help them be self-sufficient or find jobs.
The post-rehab element of the deradicalisation is also important, according to Nur Jazlan, with detainees being subject to constant monitoring by the authorities.
“This includes monitoring their online activities,” Nur Jazlan told TODAY.
Malaysia has todate suffered one attack carried out by IS militants who were directly recruited by the top Malaysian IS leader in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi.
The police had in July, confirmed that the hand grenade attack at the Movida club in Puchong, on June 28 this year, was the first-ever successful attack by IS on Malaysian soil.
Earlier this week, Bernama reported Bukit Aman special branch counter-terrorism division principal assistant director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay as saying that the public only knew of the IS militant attack in Puchong in June, but there were 14 other attempts by the group which were foiled by the police.
To date, 255 people, including 112 this year alone, have been detained in Malaysia for involvement in activities related to terrorism, TODAY reported.