Research suggests Malaysian students support for IS

A study by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) has revealed that nearly 20% of Malaysian university students are sympathisers of the terrorist group, Islamic State (also known as IS or Daesh).

The research was done on local students in four public universities (Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and UUM itself) and had uncovered a potential nightmare for the nation.

Researchers have pointed out that even though the small sample of the study doesn't necessarily reflect a broader population, the results suggest a significant number of influencers in public universities that can potentially trigger a warning in Malaysia.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim has highlighted on a separate occasion that some students in both public and private universities may have an inclination to support the terror group.

Universities have been instructed to report students found to have terror-related activities to the police where the authorities will carry out investigations and necessary actions will be taken. Student leaders in all universities are also expected to cooperate with the Home Ministry and police.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Department of Immigration along with the Royal Malaysian Police are set to carry out a plan intended to assume further control over the influence of the terror group in Malaysia.

The authorities have increased the level of screening for foreign students and lecturers as a part of the plan. Additionally, higher education institutions have been instructed to tighten the admission measures and the police are prepared to take action against individuals suspected of IS related-activities.

Back in March, it was reported that 47 Malaysians were active members of IS. Back in July, a former student of Monash University Malaysia from Bangladesh was one of 6 cafe attackers who killed 20 people during a 12-hour siege that ended with the killing of the attackers by the armed forces.

In recent months, the terrorist organisation has been defeated in major strongholds in Iraq and Syria and suffered significant losses in manpower, finances, and assets. There are plans for massive ground operations to seize control over IS held areas by the Iraqi forces in the northern province of Mosul and other areas across Iraq and Syria. Turkey joined the military operations against IS yesterday as the coalition forces continue their bombardment.

With all these losses, it is likely that the terror group is trying to find new territories with some sort of support to spread their ideologies and increase their presence and influence. The Malaysian authorities are working to neutralise the threat at an early stage and take proper preventive actions before the terror group reaches these sympathisers who can be seen as viable assets.

These security measures are also meant to safeguard Malaysian higher learning institutions and protect the lives of students and staff on campuses in Malaysia.

These efforts are being criticised by some Malaysians on social media where many Malaysian Muslims voiced out that it might be "a little too late" to implement these measures and some have pointed out that the likelihood of terrorists walking among Malaysians are very high. Though some criticism may have merit, it is reasonable to assume that the government is utilising other channels to investigate and professionally deal with suspicious activities related to terrorism.