PUTRAJAYA, July 6 — The Youth and Sports Minister is roping in youth associations to reach out to young Malaysians in a bid to curb the Islamic State (IS) menace targeting the demographic group.
Its minister Khairy Jamaluddin said his ministry will also be working closely with the police and counter-terrorism experts to further engage with youths who are being courted by the global terror group through social media.
“One of the strategies we are using is to ensure that we can reach out to young Malaysians through youth associations by bringing the police and bringing anti-terrorism experts to talk to them about the dangers of radicalisation and how recruitment happens online.
“This is very important because people are recruited online by groups like IS without knowing sometimes,” he told reporters, using the Arabic acronym for the IS.
He said the IS recruited through insidious methods, listing political and religious messages as among their modus operandi.
“We are extremely concerned about the radicalisation of young people in Malaysia,” Khairy stressed.
He added that his ministry is also working with the Home Ministry to deal with the security threats to youths.
Khairy also said a bigger budget is needed to provide more programmes that youths can participate in to avoid being influenced by IS culture and propaganda.
“If we can give young Malaysians the opportunity to serve internationally by doing good community work, then the tendency to want to join radicalised organisations to so called change the world will be reduced,” he said.
He named MyCorp, an international volunteer programme that allows Malaysians to travel abroad and contribute positively to society as an example.
The IS network has found many sympathisers among young Malaysians and has even recruited a number to join its operations in Syria and elsewhere worldwide.
However, the IS attacks have now hit home. Two days ago, Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed a grenade attack on the Movida bar in Puchong, Selangor which wounded eight people to be the first successful IS attack in Malaysia.
