FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

TERRORISM: MALAYSIA COOPERATION WITH ASEAN POST 9/11

Ronnie Ranjit Singh

Master of Social Science

2014

i

ABSTRACT

The attacks of 9/11 have marked a significant event not only to the US but to the rest

of the world. The attacks have direct impact to the world in terms of downfall of economy,

security, and destruction of human lives and properties. It has portrayed of the danger on the

act of terror and its capability to produce such effects. Southeast Asian region again, is not

free from this threat. Terrorist organizations such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Abu Sayyaf

Group (ASG), Darul Islam (DI), and Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia (KMM) are found

operating in the region including Malaysia. Moreover, there are also large scale bombings

that occurred due to terrorists activities such as bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Given the fact that terrorism is a transnational crime today, it is impossible for a country to

act alone in handling this threat and Malaysia is not an exception. The aim of this thesis is to

discuss on the need for Malaysia to cooperate with ASEAN in counter-terrorism. Apart from

that, this thesis also focuses on the initiatives involved by Malaysia in engaging ASEAN in

countering terrorism in the post 9/11 era. The final aim of this thesis is to evaluate the

importance of Malaysia to cooperate with ASEAN in countering terrorism. Neo-Realism,

Pluralism and Regionalism theory is best applicable to the context of this research due to the

function of ASEAN in countering terrorism apart of the focus of areas including social and

economic aspects. The review of ASEAN declarations, conventions, agreements, and meeting

statements and interview is used as methods for data collection.

ii

ABSTRAK

Serangan pengganas pada 9/11 adalah satu peristiwa yang tidak dapat dilupakan

oleh Amerika Syarikat dan juga negara-negara yang lain kerana serangan tersebut telah

membawa kepada kehilangan nyawa dan kemusnahan harta benda selain menggambarkan

kapasiti kumpulan pengganas yang boleh membawa kepada kemusnahan negara. Benua Asia

Tenggara juga tidak terkecuali daripada ancaman pengganas memandangkan terdapat

kumpulan-kumpulan pengganas yang beroperasi di rantau ini seperti Jemaah Islamiyah (JI),

Kumpulan Abu Sayyaf (ASG), Darul Islam (DI), dan Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia

(KMM). Memandangkan isu pengganas merupakan satu jenayah transnasional, maka ia

adalah mustahil untuk sesebuah negara bertindak sendiri tanpa bekerjasama dengan negara-

negara lain dalam menyelesaikan isu ini. Objektif tesis ini adalah untuk membincangkan

kepentingan Malaysia dalam bekerjasama dengan ASEAN untuk menangani isu “terrorism”.

Selain itu, tesis ini juga turut membincangkan langkah-langkah kerjasama yang diambil oleh

Malaysia bersama ASEAN dalam menangani isu keganasan selepas serangan 9/11. Objektif

terakhir tesis ini adalah untuk mengkaji kepentingan Malaysia bekerjasama dengan ASEAN

untuk memerangi ancaman pengganas. Teori neo-realisme, pluralisme dan regionalisme

diaplikasi kerana ia menekankan kepentingan aktor-aktor bukan kerajaan atau “non- state

actors” dalam politik global. ASEAN merupakan satu instrumen yang berpotensi untuk

diteroka bagi menangani isu serangan pengganas. Analisis pelbagai deklarasi ASEAN,

perjanjian, penyataan mesyuarat, dan temuduga merupakan antara kaedah pengumpulan

data bagi tesis ini.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to record my highest appreciation and gratitude to Dr Lucy Sebli for her

support, motivation and commitment in supervising my study. This has incredibly motivated

and guided me towards completing my thesis. I am also very grateful to my second

supervisor, Dr Ahmad Nizar Yaakub for his continuous support. I am greatly indebted to

them for their comments and supervision throughout my study.

I would also like to thank Zamalah Universiti Malaysia Sarawak for sponsoring my

study. This has incredibly assisted me financially. I would also like to record my appreciation

to the respondents of my research from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Southeast Asia

Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) for their willingness to participate in my

research which has contributed to the completion of my thesis.

I would also like to record my special thanks to my parents and finally, I would like

thank God for the wisdom and strength HE has bestowed upon me during the writing of this

thesis and throughout my life. Without HIS blessing, I would not be who I am today.

Ronnie Ranjit Singh

iv

CONTENTS

Page

Abstract i

Abstrak ii

Acknowledgements iii

List of tables ix

Abbreviations x

List of Appendix xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1-27

1.1 Background of 9/11 1

1.2 Terrorism in ASEAN: The Background 3

1.3 Terrorism in Malaysia: The Historical Background 5

1.4 The Emergence of Concept of Terrorism 7

1.5 The Definition of Terrorism 9

1.6 Definition of Terrorism in ASEAN 13

1.7 Definition of Terrorism in Malaysia 13

1.8 The Distinction between Terrorists and Freedom Fighters / 14

Liberation Movements

1.9 Scope of Study 18

1.10 Problem Statement 19

1.11 Research Questions 21

1.12 Research Objectives 21

1.13 Why Sulu Terrorism is Chosen as a Case Study? 22

1.14 Organization of Chapters 25

v

CHAPTER II: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 28-55

2.1 Introduction 28

2.2 Counter Terrorism: What it Actually Means? 28

2.3 The Tactics of Terrorism 29

2.4 The Objective of Terrorist Group in Conducting Attacks 31

2.5 Terrorism - The Non-Traditional Security Threat 32

2.6 Regional Cooperation: Counter-Terrorism 35

2.7 Terrorism: Malaysia and Southeast Asian Countries 36

(ASEAN)

2.8 EU-US Cooperation: Regional Cooperation with Unilateral State 41

2.9 EU Alliance in Counter-Terrorism: The Strength Within 43

2.10 US, Australia and Africa: A Review of Efforts 45

2.11 Significance of Study 47

2.12 Theoretical Framework 47

2.12.1 Pluralism Theory 48

2.12.2 Regionalism Theory 50

2.12.3 Neo-Realism Theory 53

2.13 Conclusion 55

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 56-69

3.1 Introduction 56

3.2 Qualitative method of data collection 56

3.3 Interview 57

3.4 Population and Sampling 59

vi

3.5 Non-Probability Sampling 61

3.5.1 Purposive Sampling 61

3.5.2 Snowball 62

3.6 Secondary Data 63

3.6.1 ASEAN Agreements, Declarations and Meeting Minutes 64

3.7 Content Analysis 65

3.8 Research Ethics 66

3.8.1 Informed Consent 66

3.8.2 Confidentiality and Anonymity 67

3.9 Research Limitation 67

3.10 Conclusion 68

CHAPTER IV: THE NEED FOR MALAYSIA TO COOPERATE WITH 70-89

ASEAN IN COUNTER-TERRORISM

4.1 Introduction 70

4.2 Terrorists Organization Operating in Malaysia 73

4.3 The Origins of Terrorists Movements That Operates in Malaysia 75

4.3.1 Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) 75

4.3.2 Darul Islam (DI) 77

4.3.3 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) 79

4.3.4 Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) 82

4.4 Malaysia’s Domestic Efforts to Counter-Terrorism Post 9/11 84

4.5 Conclusion 88

vii

CHAPTER V: MALAYSIA COOPERATION WITH ASEAN IN 90-124

COUNTER- TERRORISM POST 9/11

5.1 Introduction 90

5.2 ASEAN Declaration on Prevention and Control of Transnational Crime 92

5.3 ASEAN Declaration to Joint Action to Counter-Terrorism 2001 93

5.4 Declaration on Terrorism by the 8th

ASEAN Summit 97

5.5 ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism (ACCT) 98

5.6 ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) 101

5.7 ASEAN Comprehensive Plan of Action on Counter-Terrorism 2009 104

5.8 ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) 106

5.9 ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) Meeting 111

5.10 Major Areas of Cooperation in Counter-Terrorism 116

5.10.1 Intelligence Sharing and Information Sharing 116

5.10.2 Law Enforcement Cooperation 118

5.10.3 Counter-Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering 118

5.10.4 Development on Regional Database on Terrorists Information (e-ADS) 120

5.11 Weakness of Implementation of ASEAN Counter- Terrorism 120

Cooperation Mechanisms

5.11.1 Intelligence and Information Sharing 121

5.11.2 Counter the Financing of Terrorism and Money Laundering 122

5.11.3 ASEANAPOL 122

5.11.4 e-ADS 123

5.12 Conclusion 123

viii

CHAPTER VI: MALAYSIA COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES: 125-142

SULU TERRORISTS

6.1 Introduction 125

6.2 The Sulu Intrusion in Sabah: The Background 127

6.3 The Sulu Terrorists Attack on Sabah: A Timeline of Events 130

6.4 Terrorism in Sabah: Is ASEAN needed by Malaysia? 132

6.5 Terrorism in Sabah: Why is ASEAN Not Involved? 135

6.6 Malaysia: A Neo-Realist State 137

6.7 The Significance of Cooperation between Malaysia and ASEAN 138

in Handling the Sulu Terrorists Threat

6.7.1 Sulu Terrorists Threat is Transnational 138

6.7.2 Hard Power (ESSCOM ) Does not Seem to be Very Effective Approach 139

6.7.3 Critical Areas of Cooperation with ASEAN 140

6.8 Regionalism versus Neo-Realist: The Case of Sulu Terrorists 141

6.9 Conclusion 141

CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 143-151

7.1 Conclusion 143

7.2 Recommendations 145

7.2.1 Recommendations on how to Increase Malaysia National Security 148

7.3 Regionalism Theory in Action 149

7.4 Recommendations for Future Research 150

Bibliography 152

Appendices 174

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Terrorists Organizations Operating in Malaysia 22

2 Attacks conducted by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines 1991-1997 80

3 Kidnappings involved ASG from 2000-2001 80

4 Coverage on AMMTC Meeting in Regards to Terrorism 2005-2011 101

5 Analysis of Cooperation involved by Malaysia with ASEAN in 147

Counter- Terrorism

x

ABBREVIATIONS

ACCT ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism

AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area

AML/CFT Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism

AMMTC ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime

APG Asia-Pacific Group

ARF ASEAN Regional Forum

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASEANAPOL ASEAN Chiefs of Police

ASG Abu Sayyaf Group

ATA Anti-Terrorism Assistance

CBRNE Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives

CPM Communist Party of Malaya

CSI Container Security Initiative

CTTC Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime

DI Darul Islam

DISD Defense Intelligence Staff Division

e-ADS Electronic ASEANAPOL Database System

ESSCOM Eastern Sabah Security Command

EU European Union

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FIU Financial Intelligence Unit

FPDA Five Power Defence Agreement

GAM Gerakan Aceh Merdeka

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GLTD Ground Laser Target Designation

IFC Intelligence Fusion Centre

ILEA International Law Enforcement Academy

INTERPOL International Crime Police Organization

IRA Irish Republican Army

ISA Internal Security Act

JCLEC Jakarta Law Enforcement Centre for Cooperation

JI Jemaah Islamiyah

KLIA Kuala Lumpur International Airport

KMM Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia

MILF Moro Islamic Liberation Front

MKN Majlis Keselamatan Negara

MMEA Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

MNLF Moro National Liberation Front

MRT Mass Rapid Transit System

PAS Parti Islam Semalaysia

PASKAL Pasukan Khas Laut

PASKAU Pasukan Khas Udara

PDRM Royal Malaysian Police

PPD Muslim United Development Party

PSYOP Psychological Operation

PSYWAR Psychological Warfare

PULO Pattani United Liberation Organization

SDWAN Shared Database of Websites

SEARCCT Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism

SLTD Stolen/Lost Travel Documents

STAR Special Task and Rescue

xii

SWAT Special Weapons And Tactics

SWIFT Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

TAC Treaty of Amity and Cooperation

TFTP Terrorist Finance Tracking Program

TIP Terrorist Interdiction Program

UN United Nations

UNGA United Nations General Assembly

US United States

xiii

List of Appendix

Appendix Page

1 ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) 2004-2009 174

2 ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) 2002-2011 181

3 Timeline of Lahad Datu Attacks from 9th

February 2013 – 21st

188

March 2013 – Selected Events

4 Interview Questions 191

1

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background of 9/11

The attack of 9/11 occurred on the 11th

of September 2001 where two flights, namely

American Airlines Flight 11 (AA 11) and United Airlines Flight 175 (UA 175) bound for

Boston from Los Angeles, crashed into the World Trade Center (North Tower) in New York

at 8:46:40, and another crashed into the World Trade Center (South Tower) at 9:03:11. There

was also two other attacks on the same day where American Airlines Flight 77 (AA77) and

United Airlines Flight 93 (UA 93) crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37:46 and another into a

field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania (9/11 Commission Report, n.d.)1

The 9/11 terrorist attack on America impacted not only America in terms on loss of

lives, properties, and economic disruption but also the rest of the world which faced

economic recession (CBS News, December 19, 2001). The group that launched the attack is

known as Al-Qaeda and was founded by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1988. The 9/11

attack took many lives. Bram, et. al, (2002: 81) further re-affirmed this when they state

that, “It has been recorded that the attack has killed almost 3,000 people. Besides that, the

total cost of the September 11th

attack on the World Trade Center comprising earnings losses,

property damage, and the cleanup and the restoration of the site is estimated to be between

US$33 billion and US$36 billion through June 2002.”

The economic sector was also disrupted as the September 11th

attack coincided with,

and exacerbated a world economic downturn (Johannen, et.al, 2003). This attack also brought

many changes in world politics, such as tightening the security of power holders. According

to the former US President George William Bush “Our war on terrorism begins with al-

Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has

1 (n.d) is used for resources which its date of publication was not provided (no date).

2

been found, stopped and defeated” (Sukma, 2004: 85). This situation pushed the United

States (US) to change its foreign policy to emphasize on the global war on terror which was

attributed to the feeling of insecurity that resulted from 9/11.

The 9/11 attack also has profound affect on global politics (Vicziany, Neville&

Lentini, 2004: 14). It has created a new „„bipolar‟‟ structure that complicates patterns of

relationship among nation”(Belasco, 2009: 1). This is clearly evident with the statement by

the US former President Bush which say, “either you are with us or you are with the

terrorists” (Sukma,2004: 85).

9/11 is chosen as a point of departure in this thesis since it portrays the danger of

terrorists where they are capable of collapsing a country‟s economy such as was the case in

the US. It showed that a strong nation such as the US with sophisticated and strong

military power is still vulnerable to attack by a non-state actor, in this case Al-Qaeda. It also

demonstrated that ASEAN, which consists of many developing countries including Malaysia,

also faced a risk of being attacked by terrorists group. Case in point was the terrorists attacks

that occurred in ASEAN right after 9/11. These included the Bali bombings in Indonesia and

the series of attacks by the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines in 2002. Thus, the point of

this study of counter-terrorism cooperation between Malaysia and ASEAN, from 2001 to

2011, is to evaluate the steps taken by ASEAN in engaging its member countries to further

counter-terrorism within the region.

Apart from that, the Sulu terrorists attacks in February 2013 is chosen as a point of

discussion for a case study in order to study the successfulness of the instrument of

cooperation initiated by ASEAN. The Sulu terrorists attack is chosen for this discussion due

to the familiarity of this terrorist group with AL-Qaeda as a non-state actor, although they

claimed to be part of the Philippines. When compared to 9/11 the Sulu attack in Sabah

was smaller in scale in terms of loss of life. Eight security personnel died in the attack as

3

compared to 3,000 people in 9/11. However, it still shows the vulnerability of the state to be

attacked by terrorists and threatening the security of the state. The Malaysian government

launched “Ops Daulat” to counter those attacks for the period from the 12th of February 2013

to 23rd of March 2013.

This study examines the perspectives of the state on counter-terrorism cooperation

and looks at the diplomatic instruments of cooperation that involves Malaysia in relations to

ASEAN. This study does not however pick a biased stance nor condones any unjustified or

anti-democratic actions of the state towards the public in regards to counter-terrorism.

1.2 Terrorism in ASEAN: The Background

Countries in Southeast Asia experienced terrorism before the 9/11 attack. ASEAN

members experienced terrorist threats and terror group operations on their soil as far back as

the 1950‟s and 1960‟s when the threat of communism was prominent in the region.

Traditionally, terror groups in Southeast Asia have been confined within national borders,

usually in the periphery of Southeast Asia (Clad, McDonald, Vaughn, 2011). According

to Manyin (2003: 2), “the linkages between the terrorist groups then were relatively weak and

mostly operated within the border of their counties or islands. The focus of terror groups

during that period of time was mostly based on the adoption of Islamic law (Sharia) and

seeking independence from central government control.” Furthermore, countries such as

Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore were severely affected by the communist

threat which aimed at destabilizing and overthrowing their governments (Bilveer, n.d.).

However, after these communist groups were wiped-out, new terrorist groups have

started to emerge in pursuit of their interests. There are various extremist groups that started

to operate in Indonesia. For example the “Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM)” and the Japanese

4

Red Army attacked Singapore in 1974. Other religious based terrorist group such

as Darul Islam, GAM, Pattani United Liberalization Organization (PULO), and Moro

National Liberalization Front (MNLF) engaged in terrorists actions while seeking

independence in Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines (Bilveer, n.d.)

In Cambodia state-terrorism occurred during the Pol-Pot regime. Pol- pot engaged in

bringing change-through-terror (Harzenki, 2003). Cambodia went through a period of ethnic-

cleansing during the Pol-pot regime. Pol-pot also engaged in an eight point-program to

execute people from towns, abolish all markets, expel the Vietnamese, and dispatch troops to

Vietnam borders (ibid). The Khmer rouge regime killed approximately 30,000 Vietnamese

civilians and soldiers in nearly two years of cross-border raids. However, the cost of

Cambodian lives is unknown (Kiernan, n.d.)

Since the Cold War, ASEAN has been trying to respond to the new security

environment in order to maintain its relevance as a regional organization. These issues

include major power relations, Intra-ASEAN territorial disputes, the South China Sea, and

the traditional suspicions among some of its members. According to a senior official from the

Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (respondent A, interview, 24 April 2013) the attack of

9/11 accelerated the counter-terrorism effort in ASEAN even though efforts were made

before the incident but were not highly emphasized.2

ASEAN as a regional organization that binds all the ten states of the Southeast Asian

countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, The Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia,

Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar) acts as an instrument and cooperative tool for its member

states. ASEAN functions are based on its three main pillars for the mutual benefits of all its

members.

2 Respondent A is a senior official from the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he is the director of

the Malaysia-ASEAN National Secretariat

5

The three pillars under the ASEAN Community are the ASEAN Political-Security

Community, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Each

of these pillars has its own scope of coverage on regional issues. The Economic pillar for

instance looks at ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Energy, Finance and so on. ASEAN

Socio-Cultural Community on the other hand covers education, culture, arts, environment and

others. Terrorism falls under the pillar of ASEAN Political-Security Community under the

category of Transnational Crime. This is because it has the potential to disrupt regional

political, economic and social well-being of ASEAN. ASEAN therefore, has acted upon these

issues in taking efforts to combat such crime since 1970 (ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat

Transnational Crime, n.d.)

Initially, ASEAN scope of transnational crime was limited only to few aspects such as

drug abuse and drug trafficking. However due to the process of globalization, technological

advancement and the increase of human mobility, transnational crime threats has become

more diverse and organized. New threats such as terrorism, new types of drug abuse and

trafficking of persons, innovative forms of money laundering activities, arm smuggling,

trafficking in women and children and piracy have made it more difficult to reduce

these threats (ibid)

.

1.3 Terrorism in Malaysia: The Historical Background

Terrorism in Malaysia is not a new phenomenon or a new threat. Malaysia

experienced terrorism activities before its independence in 1957. This threat came in the form

of communism led by the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), which was established in

6

1930. These Communists were regarded as terrorists due to their involvement in violent acts

and assassinations.3

The party aimed to overthrow British colonialism, abolish Malay feudalism and set up

a Malayan People‟s Republic (Kheng, 2009). However, in order to achieve its goal, the party

conducted terror and violence including killings and assassinations of influential figures

which include British officials, police informers, party dissidents and members of rival party

(the Malayan Kuomintang) (ibid).

During World War II (WWII), the British however, have acknowledged the CPM in

1941 when this party helped the British during the Japanese occupation. The British gradually

gained control of Malaya after 1945 with the fall of Japan, due to the bombing of Hiroshima

and Nagasaki, and the local rebellion of the CPM. After the British returned to Malaya, the

activities of the Communist party were still permitted. However, the situation started to

change in 1947 when the British introduced the Malayan Union which comprises all Malay

states under the Malayan Union. Citizenship was granted automatically to both Malays and

Non-Malays with a British governor to govern the Malayan Union while limiting the power

and authority of the Malay sultanate. In this Malayan Union plan, the “CPM has accused the

British of trying to exclude their power and manipulating the independence process”

(Simpson, 1999: 92).

This resulted in a situation called the first emergency (1948-1960) with the

Communist attack in which “at the end of the emergency the final toll in lives are as follows:

security forces; 1865 killed and 2560 wounded, civilian casualties; 4000 killed and 800

missing, police casualties were 1364 killed and 1601 wounded” (Kheng, 1999: 140) The

second Communist Insurgency War began in 1967 until 1989.

3 Communists were considered terrorists as far as the Malaysian government is concerned but not all

communists are terrorists since there are ASEAN countries such as Laos and Vietnam who practices

Communism but they are anti-terrorism as well.

7

During the second emergency, there were several events which marked the “dark-

period” in the Malaysian history which includes the efforts by the communist to bomb the

national monument, the assassination of the police-chief of Perak, and the Inspector General

of Police. After going through a chaotic period, the CPM however agreed to a peaceful

resolution on 2 December 1989 to end its arms- struggle.

Despite experiencing communist threats before and after independence, Malaysia

today has terror groups operating within its boundaries, and the seriousness of terrorist threats

continues to increase up until today. In addition, the nature of terrorism today is transnational,

no longer confined within certain political boundaries.

1.4 The Emergence of Concept of Terrorism

Law (2009:1) asserts that “terrorism is as old as human civilization and started

with Clodius Pulcher, the Roman patrician who used murderous gangs to intimidate his

opponents; the dagger-wielding Sicarii of Judea who hoped to provoke a war with the

Romans. This statement were supported by respondent B, (Interview, April 25, 2013)4 from

Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism stating that the Judea during the

1st century led to burning of granaries, the sabotaging of the Jerusalem water supply, the

assassination of Roman occupation forces and Jewish collaborators, and the mass suicide at

Masada of the Jewish rebels. This proves that acts of terror have been around since the early

days. Law (2009) further maintained that the weapons, methods, and goals of terrorists

constantly change, but the core features have remained the same since the earliest times.

White (2009: 6) elaborates on modern day terror by positing that modern terrorism

originated from the French Revolution (1789-1799). The term “terrorism” were used to

4 Respondent B is a director of Research and Publication division of the Southeast Asia Regional Centre on

Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) in Kuala Lumpur.

8

describe the actions of the French government. These situations contributed to

discontentment within the French society which led them to rise up and topple the ruling

government. On July 27, 1793 the “government of terror” was formed

and Maximilien Robespierre, a well-known figure of the French revolution was placed in the

Committee of Public Safety and voted for terror to be “order of the day” (Conelly, 1991). It

resulted in the increase of food prices and lower wages for labor. Death penalty was imposed

as punishment in case of violation of this law. The new government was aimed towards

protecting the republic from domestic and foreign enemies.

The reign of terror during the French revolution was established to save the nation

from destruction, and in order to achieve that objective, human and material forces were

directed towards fighting the enemy and saving the nation. However, serious misuse of power

then occurred by the committee of public security representatives and atrocities occurred

throughout the nation. The worst case was the execution of 50,000 people including prisoners

(Conelly,1991). This represented state terrorism where the government conducted killings

towards innocent people.

At the end of 1800‟s and the early 1900‟s, terrorism was used to describe the violent

activities of several groups including labor organizations, anarchist, nationalistic groups

revolting against foreign powers and ultranationalistic political organizations (White,

2009:6). However as the millennium turned, the definitions of terrorism changed again.

Today terrorism also refers to large groups of people who are independent from a state,

violent religious fanatics, and violent groups that terrorize a state or people for a particular

cause such as the environment (ibid).

9

1.5 The Definition of Terrorism

It is very difficult for every nation, state, organizations, and scholars to reach an

agreement on the definition of terrorism. “One man‟s terrorist is another man‟s freedom

fighter” (Nathanson, n.d.) The definition therefore is vague or ambiguous and this ambiguity

comes from the fact that different parties perceive terrorism differently. There are more than

200 definitions on the term of terrorism (Samuel, 2013).5

The definition of terrorism is still vague until today where there is no rigid definition

on the act of terrorism and it still remains an ongoing debate in international bodies (Samuel,

2012). Several factors add complications in the formation of a rigid definition on terrorism.

Sorel (2003) argues that one of the problem faced to achieve a global definition on terrorism

is the difficulty of taking into account of special circumstances according to the type of

terrorist acts committed (e.g. hijacking), the nature of the victims (e.g. hostage taking

incidents) of the type or method of terrorist actions (explosives, financing).

The United Nations (UN) also faced difficulties in defining terrorism, which is

attributed to the differences of views/perceptions of terrorism among its member states. The

United Nations Terrorism Prevention Branch has described terrorism as a unique form of

crime containing elements of warfare, politics and propaganda (Conte, 2010).

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution (UNGA) described elements to be

included as an act of terrorism as follows:

“Any action, in addition to actions already specified by the existing conventions on

aspects of terrorism, the Geneva Conventions and Security Council resolution 1566

(2004), that is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-

combatants, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate

a population, or to compel a Government or an international organization to do or to

abstain from doing any act” (United Nations, 2004).

5 Samuel is the director for research and publications division of the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for

Counter-Terrorism. He has a vast experience in conducting research in relating to terrorism. This statement was

taken during the “Terrorism 101” conference in Riverside Magestic Hotel, Kuching, 7-8 Nomber 2012.

10

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States agrees that there is no

universally accepted definition on terrorism however the domestic definition adopted is “the

unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a

government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political

or social objective,” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85) (US Department of Justice, n.d). According to

the oxford dictionary, “terrorism” means “government by intimidation”

Teichman (1989) in Gearty (1996:4) discussed the various definitions of terrorism.

“From 200 years ago, terrorism was meant as a type of action carried out by governments

such as the government by intimidation as carried out by the party in power in

France between 1789 – 1794. Apart from that, the League of Nations in 1937 defined

terrorism as criminal acts against states.” However as time passed, Lutz & Lutz (2008)

provided a more recent approach where terrorists is defined as attacks towards innocent

people and civilians in order to destroy a political system. This definition is further supported

by Miller (2009: 36) where it consists of (1) deliberately using violence against innocents, (2)

is a means if terrorizing the members of some social and political group in order to achieve

political or military purposes, and (3) relies on violence to receive a high degree of publicity,

at least to the extent necessary to engender widespread fear in the target political or social

group.

In addition to that, Whittaker (2007:3) defines the terrorist acts as follows; (1) the

illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective when innocent people are targeted;

(2) a strategy of violence designed to promote desired outcomes by instilling fear in the

public at large; (3) the use or threatened use of force designed to bring about political change;

(4) the deliberate, systematic murder, maiming and menacing of the innocent to inspire fear

in order to gain political ends and terrorism is intrinsically evil, necessarily evil, and

wholly evil; (5) international terrorism is the threat or use of violence for political purposes