Counter-terrorism centre in Putrajaya operational soon

PUTRAJAYA: The Regional Digital Counter-Messaging Communi­cations Centre will be operational in a few weeks.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the centre, which will be based in Putrajaya, will be similar to the one in Dubai.

“We will use religious and IT experts to engage people on social media to counter the radicalisation agenda by Islamic State (IS) and other terror groups.

“Radicalisation is being spread through social media, thus these experts can help to counter such messages on the same platform,” he told a press conference after the launch of the 36th Asean Chiefs of Police (Aseanapol) Conference here yesterday.

Khalid said efforts were now underway to set up the necessary infrastructure for the centre.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced the setting up of the centre in October last year, saying the centre would be a point of reference and synchronisation of efforts in countering terrorism.

He said the United States was very keen to see the centre established as soon as possible to counter the spread of IS propaganda among Muslims.

The United States will help in three aspects – training, equipment and operational approach.

The centre will use direct online engagement to counter terrorists who use social media to recruit foreign fighters and raise funds for the terror movement.

To a question whether Bukit Aman needed to re-establish the Internal Security Act (ISA) given the rising terror threats, Khalid said it was not the case as existing laws, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Prevention of Crime Act were sufficient.

“I think all these laws are better than the ISA and we can forget about it (ISA). We are confident that we can maintain peace, law and order in the country with these laws,” he said.

On the discussions on combating terrorism during the conference, Khalid said such discussions would be done directly in special bilateral meetings given their sensitive nature.

“It is certainly high on our agenda. The conference’s main goal is to foster better relations among security agencies in the region,” added Khalid.

Wildlife crimes will be added to this year’s conference on top of other cross-border crimes.

Khalid said there was considerable evidence on the involvement of organised criminal networks in harvesting, processing, smuggling, and trade of wildlife and wildlife products through sophisticated means spanning national boundaries.