The problems of Islamic militancy in Malaysia : challenges and response

Abstract

In Malaysia, religious militancy or extremism (or fanaticism) could reach to a point; I would like to argue, where it would lead to the destabilization of the country's political and societal cohesion. The Memali incidents, AI-Maunah's daring attempt in taking over briefly a military camp, and the latest attempts by a militant group related to Al-Qaeda movement called Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (Malaysian Mujahidin Group) or KMM to use terrorist tactics against the government led to a question to what extent religious intolerance or religious-led violence has infiltrated into and affected the country. It also raised other inter-related points such as how the phenomenon is connected to party politics maneuverability among the political elites, political manageability and legitimacy of government, race relations, intra-Malay conflict and others. Hence, in this paper, I would like to argue that to understand current Islamic militancy phenomenon in Malaysia is to appreciate the changes of Malay political culture and how globalization has added to influence these changes. What's more, it is also useful to look at how Malaysia manages the rise of Islamic militancy in Malaysia given the worrying trend worldwide.