Published: Wednesday November 11, 2009 MYT 6:10:00 PM
Aussie anti-terrorist expert backs ISA
KUALA LUMPUR: The Internal Security Act (ISA) is undoubtedly an effective way to curb terrorism in Malaysia, Australian ambassador for Counter-Terrorism William Paterson said on Wednesday.
“Malaysia chooses to use the preventive detention approach under the ISA ... has it been effective? Without doubt, yes, it’s been very effective,” he told reporters after a roundtable discussion on “Australia’s Perspective on Regional CounterTerrorism Issues” here.
The one-day discussion was organised by the Foreign Ministry’s South-East Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) in collaboration with the Australian High Commission in Malaysia.
The discussion was chaired by SEARCTT director-general Ahmad Shahizan Abdul Samad.
Paterson said every country had to come out with its own initiatives in dealing with terrorism.
“Indonesia took a very different approach, it decided to embark on criminal investigation, prosecution, (and then through) the courts system to conviction ... that also has proven very effective and that’s the approach we take in Australia,” he said.
Paterson said censorship of the Internet, which was often used as a tool by terrorists to build and coordinate their activities such as recruitment and fundraising, was not the best solution to curb the problem.
“If we start censorship of the Internet we will be the big losers and there’s no support from our society (because) people want a free and open Internet.
“There is no solution at the moment and they (terrorists) are also very hard to take down. You can get professional hackers to disrupt an extremist website but after you take that down, it will pop up somewhere else ... it’s a very difficult problem in the counter-terrorism world,” he said.
Paterson also expressed high regard for Malaysia’s capabilities and willingness to work with other countries in addressing the matter. -- Bernama
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