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JULY 21, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 28 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK 'We Are Concerned' About the educated members, says Najib Members of the shadowy Al-Ma'unah group duped two army outposts in northwestern Perak state out of a veritable arsenal, were later besieged, then captured. But many questions remain. To get some answers, Correspondent Santha Oorjitham talked to Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak, 46, who had overall responsibility for the government's military operations. How could the camps have allowed the arms to be taken? No one should be allowed to enter a camp at that hour without the duty officer being alerted. No one should open the armory without the duty officer or commanding officer being present. There was no verification of identity. They just assumed these were genuine officers. Someone in the Pajero flashed a military ID but that was from a distance. The weaknesses are occurring at the lowest end of the chain of command. There is this culture in the military, when confronted with a superior officer the normal reaction is just to obey instructions. What do you know about Al-Ma'unah? There are indications this group are supporters of Pas [the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia], although Pas has denied any links. When police raided the [Al-Ma'unah office], they found some Pas stickers. Some people say this was all a set-up to discredit the Islamic opposition. Pas is twisting the story, saying everything was staged by us so we could take action against Pas. I just laugh at it. It's sheer nonsense. How do you define "deviationist"? If the beliefs contradict the Koran and the Sunnah Wal Jamaah [ways of the Prophet Muhammad], then they are deviationist. Many people believe in [Al- Ma'unah] because they believe in mystical powers, not necessarily because they have a militant or political agenda. As far as we know, their leader was not claiming to be the mahdi [messiah] but a wali [religious man] in communication with God and with supernatural powers. Yet some of his followers are well educated and include urban professionals and civil servants. And some are from the army and police. We are very concerned that people in strategic organizations and people who are well qualified can belong to this organization. Is it because they want to learn more about religion or because they have faith in this leader who, they think, possesses powers such as invincibility or supernatural strength? They are also anti-government. These people have been indoctrinated to hate the government and want a pure Islamic state through jihad. [For them], jihad means the bearing of arms against anyone who stands in their way, whether non-Muslims or people supporting the government, and that these people should be eliminated to achieve their cause. Jihad doesn't just mean bearing arms. You only bear arms against those who want to destroy Islam. You can't kill a non-Muslim and call it jihad. Islam teaches you to live in peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims who do not threaten you. There are many types of jihad. If you acquire knowledge or fight poverty, it is also jihad. It's wrong to think jihad is just to carry arms against infidels or those who don't believe in the setting up of a pure Islamic state. Write to Asiaweek at mail@web.asiaweek.com
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