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| Southeast Asia |
| Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia primer |
| 2005-08-20 |
| The Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) advocates the overthrow of the Malaysian government and the establishment of an Islamic regime comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. The organization was founded in 1995 by Zainon Ismail with the pan-Islamist goal of forming an Islamic state in Southeast Asia and identified the secular governments of the region, notably that of Malaysia, as its primary enemies. The group enjoys significant ties with other regional Islamic extremist organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiah (JI) â something that bolsters its influence and operational capabilities. Though it has suffered setbacks due to recent regional counterterrorism efforts, the KMM continues to maintain its founding ideology and objectives. Zainon Ismail, an Afghan mujaheddin during the 1980s, served as the head of KMM from 1995 through 1999. Indeed, much of the organizationâs membership consists of former Afghan mujahidin fighters. Like Ismail, they were inspired and further radicalized by the success of Afghan mujaheddin forces during their 1980s guerrilla war against the Soviets. Thus, the militant, anti-secular and anti-imperialist ideology that developed as a result of the Afghan-Soviet war served as a founding influence of the early KMM leadership and helped shape the groupâs ideological expansion. The KMM views the Malaysian, Indonesian and Filipino governments as corrupt tools of Western imperialism bent on containing and destroying Islam. In order to achieve its goal of a pan-Islamist Southeast Asian state, the group thus advocates and works towards the overthrow of the regionâs secular governments. The KMMâs links with other regional extremist organizations are a critical aspect of its ability to spread its influence and gain new members. Malaysian authorities believe that several militant KMM factions are aligned with JI, an Indonesian terrorist organization that has ties with al-Qaida and is one of the largest such groups in Southeast Asia. Key JI leaders, such as its spiritual head Abu Bakar Bashir, supposedly have provided spiritual guidance to KMM members. Singaporean officials also claim that JI members have also provided logistical and financial support to the KMMâs terrorist activities in Indonesia. In August 2001, Singaporeâs government expressed concern over the activities of Malaysian extremist groups, such as the KMM, in the region. The same month two Malaysian nationals were arrested for their suspected links to the group and believed involvement in bombings in Indonesia. Southeast Asian officials believe that the KMM has been able to successfully spread its influence and augment its strength beyond Malaysian borders through its relationship with groups like JI. The KMM is believed to have operational networks active in the Perak, Johor, Kedah, Selanger, Terangganu and Kelantan states of Malaysia as well as Wilayah Persukutuan, the district of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The group has also been active in Ambon, Indonesia, where, in July 2001, members of an Islamic missionary group with suspected ties to the KMM were arrested for gunrunning. The Malaysian government believes that smaller militant factions have split from the KMM to conduct independent operations in Malaysia as well as overseas. As a result of the existence of smaller KMM factions, and the groupâs ties with other extremist organizations, government authorities have found it difficult to determine the exact membership of the organization. Currently, the Malaysian government estimates that the KMM comprises 70 to 80 members. However, law enforcement officials have investigated upwards of 200 militants with suspected ties to the group and other organizations, such as JI. Malaysia has imprisoned numerous KMM members under its Internal Security Act, which permits the government to detain any persons identified as national security threats. Thus far, Malaysian police have investigated and detained suspected militants believed to have been engaged in âplanning to wage jihad, possession of weaponry, bombings and robberies, the murder of [a] former state assemblyman, and planning attacks on foreigners-including U.S. citizens.â Many of these detainees have suspected ties to the KMM as well as JI, which illustrates the intricate nature of the groupsâ interaction. In total, 48 members of the KMM and its associated factions and organizations have been detained in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act, including the groupâs former leader Nik Adli Nik Abdul Aziz. Aziz assumed control of the KMM in 1999, and his detention has been extended through September 2005. The KMMâs current lack of central leadership has hampered the groupâs ability to conduct operations but, nonetheless, it subsists â largely due to its connections with JI and other regional groups as well as its own diffuse and decentralized network of cells. The KMM is also suspected of receiving military training in Afghanistan (prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on America) but the exact degree to which it receives additional external aid, aside from limited financial and logistical support from Jemaah Islamiyah, is unknown. Thus, the group is thought to be largely self-financing and, in this vein, to rely on robberies and other criminal activities to fund its operations. It is suspected of carrying out murders and other violent crimes throughout Malaysia and Indonesia (in concert with its suspected regional partners). The KMM has not carried out any recent attacks, most likely due to stepped-up counterterrorism campaigns by Southeast Asian governments as well as increased cooperation among states in the region. This cooperation includes the December 2001 accord between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines whereby they pledged to share intelligence, fight terrorism and combat border crime. Such accords are vital in fighting groups such as KMM which operation across the sprawling Southeast Asian region. ⢠Official Name: Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) ⢠Countries of Operation: Active networks in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well as suspected activity in the southern Philippines. ⢠Year Founded: 1995 ⢠Membership: Estimated to be between 70 and 80 but exact numbers unknown due to existence of splinter factions and close ties with other militant organizations in the region. ⢠Affiliated Groups: Jemaah Islamiah (Indonesia) as well as suspected ties with other unidentified regional groups (such as Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines). ⢠External Aid: has received military training in Afghanistan and logistical and financial support from Jemaah Islamiah but is currently believed to be largely self-supporting and self-financing. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |