The Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed, said in New Delhi on 18 October 2002, Malaysia could be the next target following bombings in Bali and the Philippines. He has reason to worry. And he cannot rein in journalists overseas as he can in Malaysia, and he has to answer questiolns lobbed at him. Malaysia supports the United States in the latter's global war against terror, and Al Qaeda. She targets Malaysian groups whom she accuses of having trained in Afghanistan when it was ruled by the Taliban. He does not mention his government once encouraged to do so. He told a news conference during a lightning visit to the Indian capital that "terrorists respect no borders. They can operate in any country. Even the countries least involved might find themselves targets of terrorist attacks."

But Malaysia is involved, and by his own admission, a likely target. That is not all. After the Bali bombings, Malaysian police warned hotels and entertainment centres to of possible terrorist attacks by the Jemaah Islamiyah and her homegrown terrorist group, the Kesatuan Militan Malaysia. It does not matter if it is or note, if the Malaysian government describes it as one, without proof or rationale, no one can question it and accept the questionable assertions without fail. So, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and, now, Germany advised its citizens to stay clear of holiday "hotspots" in Asia. It is better to be safe than sorry.

When the Prime Minister and his cabinet are fearful of terrorist attacks, and when police ask entertainment centres to tighten security, the reaction in foreign countries is just that: that terror could strike at short notice. It is no use for cabinet ministers to cry out loud that Malaysia is unfairly targetted. There is no targetting. A country decides how safe a destination is, and warns its citizens accordingly. Malaysia issues such advisories on occasion afer her officials decide there could be a threat, and discretion is the better part of valour. This happens when panic strikes, as over Bali, or when the country is involved in a larger policy that invites and attracts terror.

Look at how Malaysia reacted to Dr Rohan Gunaratna, the instant terrorist expert, and his doctoral thesis-turned-best seller, "Inside Al Qaeda". It exudes the usual confidence and firm prescriptions of the neophyte, and like many a doctoral thesis, should be regarded as just that: a doctoral thesis. Gone are the days when doctoral thesis, much thinner but with more substance -- the best I have read, on British policy in the Middle East in the final years of the Ottomman Empire, was about 120 pages long, about as long as a middling chapter in a modern dissertation, and which the British Foreign Office used it as an important resource, but that was written 50 years ago -- was a solid piece of work. Today, it is largely cut and paste, with a bibliography about as thick. One gets the impression it is weight and thickness matters more than its contents. Dr Gunaratne's book must be treated in that light, no more no less.

No one bothered to read the forgettable book, but it was an excuse to raise the temperature politically. It was good for a few days of blood-curdling and often irrelevant news coverage. But amidst the furore, a "leading" Malaysian think tank invites him to talk about his anti-terrorism thesis. His is part of this ridiculous orgy of speculative coverage, as one website described this war on terror, long on hypotheses and short on fact. But he published his book at the right time to be sucked into this global war against terror, the loud noise drowning out the reality of it rooted on a few confirmable facts. The Malaysian government regards Dr Gunaratna a fake, not to be trusted, but one arm of it, the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), invites him to hear what he has to say.

It would surprise if ISIS did not invite him. Think tanks -- actually tin tanks, for they often dispense noise more than scholarship -- have a built in American bias: its researchers and officials all believe, and spout, the US worldview, and it allows the US policy establishment to prove their case by these "independent" think tanks parroting its views in the local dialectic. So he is invited. I had a drink recently with an American government researcher I met at a hotel here: he is calling on think tanks to find out what their governments think. He believes the region accepts the US is right in this global war against terror, basing his thesis on the self-fulfilling views he wants to hear. He was shocked at some of what I told him, but he admitted he is in a capital for a few days, his time is limited, and too many think tanks to consult. It is on such thin grounds that a rickety framework of policy if formed. He has a tough time in front of him: think tanks proliferate as politicians with ideas beyond their station form them to show them out to be serious thinkers on issues and policy. Besides, the more assertive the think tanks, the less sure it is of its basics.

Malaysian politicians, especially in the governing BN coalition, do not think. Those who want to go against the grain so they could reach the top have think tanks to do the thinking for them. Every self-respecting politician in Malaysia have their own formal or informal groups. Few I know think through ideas and profer them, however damaging. Most are there to second guess their leader's political agenda. And write speeches that make quotable, especially on CNN. So we get the mess we have over the war against terror. We have terrorists in our midst, says the Prime Minister one day. No we do not, on another. When foreign countries take what Malaysian leaders take seriously, they are accused of raising the ante.

So, the BN threatens to sue Dr Gunaratna. Then it decides not to. He is embroiled in this manufactured crisis, and fears his instant punditry would be regrettably instant, and so makes as ridiculous statements as those who attack him. He offers million dollar rewards if what he did not write or say is in his book. He orders Malaysian bookshops to restock the book the authorities asked to remove from sale. But when all is said and done, this is a tempest in a teacup. He and the Malaysian government deserve each other. You would have noticed that in this irrelevant episode, there is no serious discussion about the terror that brought the two together. But then neither knows the extent and scope of that terror. Nor care. So long as one sells his books and instant punditry, and the other can keep his political allies in line.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my

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Terbitan : 31 Okt 2002

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