KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Police estimate there are at least 50,000 Daesh (Islamic State) sympathisers nationwide, MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday. 

He warned that the threat of radicalism in the country can’t be ignored.

“If only one per cent of these sympathisers turn radical and if they attack any part of Malaysia, we will be in trouble,” Liow said at a closed-door seminar organised by MCA’s School of Political Studies on national security and the threat by Daesh militants.

A sympathiser is defined as one who concurs with the ideology of radicals and provides various forms of assistance to the cause but takes no active role.

He praised the police for their tireless efforts in stemming radicalism in the country. He also attributed Malaysia’s culture and history of moderation for ensuring the people did not become extremists.

“Opposing extremism with moderation is a task not taken lightly. We must remain collectively committed to that end,” he said.

Later, speaking to the Malay Mail, Liow said the actions of Daesh had nothing to do with religion but instead a matter of ideology. 

“Religion is simply used as one of their tricks to attract potential recruits,” he said.

Liow, who is also Transport Minister, said: “We must ensure that Malaysians of all races, creeds and religions are not are not influenced.” 

He added that the seminar was also one method of raising awareness among the public.

School principal Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun expressed concern that women would fall for the ideology, referring to the instances abroad in which women and girls ran away from their homes and families to join Daesh fighters in Syria.

Chew, who is also Deputy Women, Family and Community Development minister, said: “The key thing is to spread the news, so to speak, and make everyone aware. Not only is it harmful to others, but ultimately self-destructive to themselves, their families and their country.” 

In attendance as seminar panelists were Bukit Aman Special Branch division deputy director-general for research and management Datuk Rosly Abas, and its E8 Counter-Terrorism division director Datuk Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay.

Meanwhile, research by an international organisation, Pew Research Centre, found that more than one in 10 Malaysians held a favourable views of Daesh.

It gleaned the information from its 2015 Global Attitudes survey.