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JULY 21, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 28 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK How can This Happen? Cults are nothing new, but raids on the army demand some answers By PENNY CRISP and SANTHA OORJITHAM Kuala Lumpur An arms heist, a jungle stand-off, dead hostages, bizarre cult practices in the name of Islam . . . Malaysia suddenly seems a far less stable society. And it is not as if the Al-Ma'unah group members -- who tricked soldiers at two army posts in northwestern Perak state into handing over weapons, then surrendered after two days of controlled persuasion -- are detached from mainstream Malaysians. The leader of the group, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, 29, may be a former army private who was court-martialed for drug abuse and human trafficking. But among 26 followers also arrested on July 6 were drivers, mechanics, technicians, an army captain, an analyst, an insurance agent, a lecturer and even an executive with the national car company, Proton. "It shows that how religion is used and manipulated is still a real problem in Malaysia," says Kamarulnizam Abdullah, coordinator of the Strategic and Security Studies Unit at the National University of Malaysia. "The government has to do something." Right now, the government is setting up two boards of inquiry to investigate the incident and make recommendations. The Home Affairs Ministry and the Islamic Development Department will be made responsible for an "early-warning system" to monitor religious groups. As well, a White Paper will be tabled in Parliament for debate. Says Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad: "Our main priority now is to explain fully to the people that the group was not fighting for Islam. They are just criminals and killers." But perhaps more important from Malaysians' point of view are answers to some serious questions. How could this have happened? And why? Certainly, Al-Ma'unah (Brotherhood of Inner Power) did not hide its existence. It claims to have registered as a society in 1998 and its website reports that it teaches "martial arts, particularly the development of one's inner power and the practice of Islamic traditional medicine." Slogans on the website include: "Jihad is our way!" Photos purport to show some of its 1,000 members putting their hands into vats of hot oil and having logs rolled over their chests. The group also was well organized -- at least at the beginning of its peculiar sortie. Members wore army officers' uniforms on July 2 when they approached army posts in Perak. They talked and acted like officers, according to Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak (see page 30). Soldiers then handed over about 100 rifles. But the next day a villager stumbled upon the group's camp and police soon moved in. On that day and the next, two policemen, an army ranger and an orchard owner were taken hostage, and one group member was shot and killed when he refused to retreat. After wives and children of group members were brought in to speak to their men, two members surrendered early on July 6 and the remaining 25 by the end of the day. Two hostages were later found tortured and killed. While the government was praised in some quarters for the transparency of the operation, the press was outraged by the incident. "Robbery of weapons is only scripted by screenwriters," thundered establishment newspaper New Straits Times. "We, as Malaysians, want answers." According to National University's Kamarulnizam, the uprising was more serious than previous "deviationist" affairs: "It shows the security forces can be breached." As for what Al-Ma'unah hoped to achieve, various theories are being bandied about. While Mahathir says the White Paper will cover Al-Ma'unah's plans to topple the government, local newspapers reported that the current grouping was set up in September 1998, the month former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim was sacked. "At this stage we can't say there is a connection," says Defense Minister Najib. But he added there were indications the group supported the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia. Pas president Fadzil Mohamed Noor told Asiaweek he had not heard of Al-Ma'unah before the raid. He said he did not know if any Pas members were involved and that Pas did not plan to investigate further. However, the Pas youth chief for Trengganu state, Zakaria Dagang, confirmed that one of the 29, Kamarudin Mustafa, had been forced to resign from a Pas youth committee in Trengganu in June when his membership in Al-Ma'unah was uncovered. Moreover, Zakaria said, the Pas assembly the same month said it did not recognize the group because its teachings were deviationist. National University's Kamarulnizam takes a less political view of phenomena such as Al-Ma'unah. "There's a soul-searching among the professionals," he says. "Urban life cannot provide all the answers." Malaysians, however, are likely to demand a more concrete explanation. The 'Deviationist' Dateline Last week's raid on Al-Ma'unah is the fourth major crackdown on Muslim "deviationists" in the past 20 years. The authorities say as many as 44 such groups exist in Malaysia. The figure is hard to confirm, but earlier incidents suggest that the issue won't go away. Oct. 16, 1980: Police shot dead eight members of a group of up to 20 sword-wielding Muslims led by a Cambodian refugee who claimed to be the mahdi, a sort of messiah. They had stormed a police station in Batu Pahat in southern Johor state, injuring 14 policemen and nine civilians. The self-styled mahdi was among those killed. Nov. 19, 1985: In a shootout between police and villagers in Memali in northern Kedah state, four policemen and 14 villagers were killed. The villagers were led by Ibrahim Mahmood, who was nicknamed "Ibrahim Libya" because he had studied there. He died in the shootout. Al-Ma'unah leader Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, then 13, was reportedly present as a member of Ibrahim's group. Aug. 5, 1994: Authorities outlawed the Al-Arqam group for teachings "against true Islamic practice." Al-Arqam advocated living in an isolated, self-reliant community. At its height it spread to 16 countries. Founder Ashaari Muhammad, once a member of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia, is still under house arrest. Write to Asiaweek at mail@web.asiaweek.com
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