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  • Essay / Transnational organized crime in the Southeast Asian region: impact on security, socio-political and economic well-being of Malaysia

    Table of contentsTerrorism in Southeast AsiaAbu Sayyaf GroupOther activities in South Asia Southeast Illegal smugglingMoney launderingDrug traffickingHuman traffickingMaritime piracyEffects of Southeast Asian terrorism on Malaysia's social and political aspects and economyA country's security dilemma is associated with increasing crime rate and terrorist activities, particularly in Southeast Asia. This refers to the lack of efforts by the military and law enforcement agencies to curb and combat related problems. This failure can arise from various factors, including political instability, economic problems, extremism, rebellion or militancy, and the absence of a security system. Failure to control and prevent this element will give terrorist groups the opportunity to carry out their activities and spread their ideology or beliefs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Terrorism in Southeast Asia Terrorism is defined as any terrorist activity carried out by a particular individual or group that contradicts international counter-terrorism norms. In general, the international community has opposed terrorism. To make terrorist acts appear legitimate, terrorists will use religions or beliefs as elements to launch terrorist acts. For example, using terms such as Jihad and Holy War are intended to incorporate a religious element into terrorist activities. Marin and Patricia Vazques (2008) found that the terrorist group was believed to have formed by spreading terrorist ideology to a group of extremist companies. , fundamentalist, conservative and poorly educated. These groups in society will be recruited to become part of the terrorist group by spreading religious teaching where terrorism is accepted. Weak countries generally constitute the most strategic location for the terrorist movement. This is because these countries are weak internally. These countries could also face rebellion, ethnic clashes, narrow-mindedness, political instability, corruption, extremist and pathetic legal system. These internal problems in certain countries can give terrorist groups the opportunity to easily access the country. According to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD 2017), since 1970, terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia have varied to varying degrees. In 2004, the frequency of attacks increased. According to GTD data, there is a dramatic growth in the number of terrorist attacks between 2011 and 2013. Since the September 11 attacks, international security has posed a major challenge to the United States of America due to the change orientation of their security policy. According to Paul J. Smith (2013), the September 11 attacks led international media to highlight that Washington had confirmed that Southeast Asia was the "second front" of terrorist activities. Terrorism has become a significant problem and security concern in Southeast Asia, especially after the September 11, 2001 incident. Tun Mahathir Mohamad (2003) was speaking at a time when the September 11 attacks were still being debated globally and during this time the impact of the attack was still ongoing and heavily affected to the Western world. Tun Mahathir recognized that the serious consequences are not focused on Americans but on the whole world, in terms ofsocial and economic. Tun Mahathir managed to express his sympathy for the civilian victims of the Pentagon attacks and at the same time, he expressed his sympathy to the main suspects of the incident. Tun Mahathir, in his speech, specifically predicted that the suspects were innocent until proven guilty, and that they could, to some extent, suffer so tragically for their action that they might not have not been involved initially. For the purposes of this article, it will focus on an analysis of the movement context of the two main terrorist groups in Southeast Asia, the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah. Based on GTD data, the Abu Sayyaf Group committed a high number of attacks in 2013. Although Operation Jemaah Islamiyah has declined significantly, both the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah have established their ability to carry out a series of attacks against multiple targets which had an impact on the socio-economic situation of the region. Abu Sayyaf GroupAccording to O'Brien (2012), the Abu Sayyaf Group was described as an organized crime syndicate that claimed to seek wealth by manipulating terrorist tactics and other illegal activities. From another perspective, explaining that the Abu Sayyaf group originally aimed for the freedom of the Moro Muslim, a minority tribe under the Philippine government, upon whom the group later urged the establishment of an Islamic state independent which would respect Islamic sharia. The Sayyaf group has endured years of counterterrorism from the Philippine armed forces. Technically, they showed great resilience. According to Banlaoi (2010), this type of strength can be attributed to the group's primary recruitment tool for attracting wealth and control from Southeast Asian Muslim communities. According to the GTD, the Abu Sayyaf group has committed or is suspected of committing crimes against 486 terrorists. attacks from February 18, 1994 until December 2016 (GTD 2017). Hostage-taking was the main attack in 2013, followed by bomb attacks and armed attacks. This pie chart represents 486 attacks by the Abu Sayyaf Group from its inception until December 31, 2016. Based on GDP data, Abu Sayyaf Group attacks include armed and unarmed assaults, hijackings, bombings bombing, assassinations, hostage-taking, including barricades and kidnappings, as well as attacks on installations/infrastructure. The Abu Sayyaf group's main attacks include bombings which make up 42% (203), kidnappings which make up 34% (165) and armed assaults which make up 22% (109) of their attacks. According to Banlaoi (2008), to attract young Muslims who are part of the Abu Sayyaf group, the main motivation is money. Apart from this, Muslim families have also suggested their sons to join this group. The participant's monthly payment was approximately RM800 and rice. In 2010, for example, the group's membership was estimated to be 445, of which members aged 30 or younger made up 79% of the total membership. Disgruntled young people are enough to be attracted by the income that the group can make from kidnappings. Among the group's members, there are many individuals committed to jihadist ideology. However, it has always been concluded that the majority of members of the Abu Sayyaf group are not influenced by jihadist ideology or the creation of an Islamic state, but rather by finances and power. The attraction to material gain is the main indicator that members of the Abu Sayyaf group are motivated by greed. As such, the Abu Sayyaf group has a large recruitment pool as long as economic instability remains an internal problem in the Philippines. Bayahihan (2010)said that from 2011 to 2013, the first step of the Philippine government was the introduction of the Internal Peace and Security Plan. (IPSP) to combat security, ideological insurgencies and terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf group. Since then, the types of attacks by the Abu Sayyaf group have changed from bombings to kidnappings, reflecting the group's response to government pressure. Since the implementation of the IPSP, the number of attacks has increased and is the highest number in the history of the Abu Sayyaf group. Jemaah Islamiyah Jemaah Islamiyah was established in the early 1990s and was based in Indonesia. Jones.S (2005) stated that the aim of establishing this Islamist group is to create a caliphate reaching most of the ASEAN countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines . 3.16 Early Jemaah Islamiyah fighters were believed to have been trained in Afghanistan and had links to Al-Qaeda. Since its creation, Jemaah Islamiyah remained an underground movement until its first attacks in 1999. Their attacks targeted both Western and local countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia. Notable Jemaah Islamiyah attacks were the Bali bombing that killed 202 people in 2002. The other major attack was the 2003 car bombing of the JW Marriott Hotel, which killed 12 people, followed by the 2004 truck bombing of the Australian Embassy, ​​which killed 11 people. They also carried out a suicide attack that killed 22 people in 2005. Joose AP & Milward (2014) found that the fight against terrorism against this group had been led by the governments of Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and of Malaysia, resulting in the elimination of its network in 2009. Other terrorist organizations diverted attention from Jemaah Islamiyah beginning in 2009. Former JI members and leaders trained other radical dissident groups, but were arrested and convicted by Pakistani authorities as well as Philippine security forces in 2012. The ideology of Jemaah Islamiyah was based on the Islamic ideologue according to which the need for preemptive violence was considered as tactically and strategically appropriate. Jemaah Islamiyah aimed to be seen as a religious warrior defending the interests of Muslims. This organization seeks the affirmation of a broader Islamic community. The group's main activities were carried out in 1999 and 2000 and were subsequently significantly reduced. Other activities in Southeast Asia influence increased conflict and instability in Southeast Asia. These failures can potentially impact security resulting from increasing globalization and technological change. The problem of non-traditional threats in Southeast Asia is considered serious and is sometimes linked to well-organized groups. Terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group that carry out various illegal activities mainly consist of illegal smuggling, money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking and maritime piracy. All of these transnational criminal activities are expanding by taking advantage of weak government institutions and law enforcement as well as corrupt officials and politicians. Criminal activities appear to be harming peace in the Southeast Asian region. Illegal SmugglingSmuggling activities take place particularly in Southeast Asia, trading in various products including arms and small arms, timber, food, textiles and also wildlife. Southeast Asia is known as a trade hotspotactive where the trader will act as both a supplier and a consumer in the import-export of products that contribute to the huge volumes of international trade. Natural products like medicinal and precious plants, endangered animal species and fisheries also have their own market and were easily smuggled illegally due to lack of implementation of the enforcement bases of the Convention on International Trade in species of wild fauna and flora threatened with extinction (CITES). Smuggling of wild and wild animals is aimed at traditional medicine using for example tiger bones, bear gallbladder, pangolin scales, rhino horn and dendrobium orchids. Wildlife has also been illegally introduced and traded as pets. It includes reptiles and birds to meet the demand of collectors of rare species. Wildlife will also be smuggled illegally to be marketed as food containing a protein source. Foods harvested from the wild, including meat, fish products or plants, have their own market and demand. Furs, skin and wool of mammals and reptiles are traded to make various end products, including clothing and various accessories. Southeast Asia's forests contain various resources that are used to generate income, including by illegal smugglers. In many cases, the need to conserve forest ecosystems is overlooked in the rush to supply global markets with timber and other forest products. Thus, illegal logging and timber smuggling are a growing problem, due to inexhaustible demand, especially for high-value species. Smuggling of illegal drugs and weapons is also a serious activity carried out in this region by organized groups where it is sometimes so linked to the terrorist group. Indirectly, this guarantees the financing of the organization by carrying out these activities because the marginal profit is very high. Money Laundering Trade-based money laundering in Southeast Asia has been driven by a confluence of factors, including economic growth, weakness, and the presence of sophisticated transnational organizations. criminal networks. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ASEAN economies are expected to grow at a rate of 5.2% between 2016 and 2020. Economic growth will be indirectly associated with persistent signs of bribery. wine and corruption problems. The risk of money laundering too. Money laundering will have potentially harmful consequences on the national economy, for example by allowing governments to receive lower tax revenues when companies undercharge the value of their shipments. Distorting the value or quantity of imports and exports can make it easier for criminals and corrupt officials to transfer capital in order to legitimize the source of funds. Money laundering is difficult to detect due to the complexity of the trade finance process itself and the number of entities involved. The unstructured format of required documentation, such as Word documents, PDF files and scanned images, creates additional automation and filtering challenges. Money laundering is considered one of the effective tools for transnational organized crime groups, including terrorist groups, to operate and transfer assets on a global scale. Trafficdrugs At the 7th Australasian Drug Strategy Conference, regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in March 2015, highlighted the growing threat of drugs, including various forms of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and heroin, especially in the Southeast Asian region. It is exported globally to Japan, New Zealand and Australia correlating with the instability of the Golden Triangle, cross-border trafficking and the resurgence of opium production in recent years between Myanmar, Lao PDR and Thailand. production in East and Southeast Asia meets regional demand, but significant quantities are also shipped to other parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Complex international drug trafficking networks are increasingly active in the region due to this profitable and growing market. This is particularly relevant in the current era of regional integration and reduced border restrictions in Southeast Asia, which present real potential for increased cross-border trafficking of drugs and precursors. An efficient distribution network allows drug traffickers to move refined heroin and amphetamines from the Golden Triangle to Thailand, which remains one of the main routes for the illicit drug trade. Narcotics are also smuggled from the Golden Triangle to China's Yunnan province, then by land to Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. Additionally, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Phnom Penh have become important hubs in global drug distribution. All these different destinations serve as transit points to supply national and international markets. Funds from drug trafficking allow criminal syndicates to have modern military equipment and corrupt politicians, judges and law enforcement. Organized criminal groups control human trafficking and smuggling. Realizing high profits encourages human traffickers and smugglers to expand their activities in this region. In April 2015, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report entitled Migrant Smuggling in Asia: Current Trends and Related Challenges, which analyzes the smuggling of migrants in 28 states from the Middle East to the Pacific. This report reveals that criminal networks creatively exploit gaps between demand and regular migration. Based on the research conducted, the smuggling fee is estimated to be $50,000, which is usually refunded after arrival. This report further warns that migrant smuggling poses a significant threat to Asia, generating an annual value of $2 billion for criminal groups and leading to deaths and human rights violations. Smugglers will normally provide false passports, transportation, transit, accommodation and border crossings. Young women and children will always be the main targets of illegal smugglers. They will enter the country as undocumented workers and end up working as prostitutes and domestic workers. In general, the illegal status of this immigrant makes it more difficult to approach local authorities. The United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 women are trafficked each year in Southeast Asia. The illegal trade in women is mostly masked by the broader phenomenon of undocumented migration. The Asian financial crisis and economic difficulties facing countries in the region have increased human traffickinghumans in Southeast Asia. Poverty and lack of education and employment opportunities are at the root of this problem. Despite some attempts to promote interstate cooperation against human trafficking and smuggling, this issue continues to pose political challenges in Southeast Asia. Due to limited bilateral and multilateral collaboration and lack of political unity between countries, this issue is becoming more difficult to resolve. be a fight. Illegal migration can have a negative impact on bilateral relations as well as political tensions between governments. The extreme poverty and economic disparities that persist in Southeast Asia seriously undermine regional efforts to address the problems of human trafficking and smuggling. Maritime piracy Maritime piracy is a historical and cultural phenomenon that has continued to modern era to affect maritime traffic in some of the countries of the world. the busiest shipping lanes. Maritime piracy has been defined as “the act of boarding a vessel with the intent to commit theft or other crime and with the intent or ability to use force in furtherance of that act.” Maritime piracy is a crime committed in international waters, which include the high seas, exclusive economic zones and the contiguous zone, and therefore beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any country. The Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) states: “All States shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible in the suppression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place beyond the jurisdiction of a state. » The number of reported piracy attacks around the world has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2002, 103 cases of piracy attacks were reported in Indonesian waters. Significantly, at least a third of these attacks are never reported. Shipowners and captains fear rising insurance premiums and being seen by the industry as unreliable. freight carriers. The problem of piracy in Southeast Asia poses a threat to regional and international economic security. The free and safe navigation of commercial vessels in Southeast Asia is essential to international trade. The risk of piracy in the region has already resulted in a high economic cost, reflected in the loss of goods and vessels and increased insurance premiums added to a number of cargoes transiting the Strait of Malacca. Furthermore, there are fears that a piracy attack on a supertanker crossing the strait could lead to an environmental disaster of massive proportions. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are the ASEAN countries most affected by piracy. In Southeast Asia, maritime piracy is generally carried out at night by fishermen, petty criminals, former members of the armed forces, but also by well-organized criminal gangs. They are often better equipped than most naval authorities. They have speedboats and modern weapons to take control of merchant ships. The majority of piracy incidents occur in ports or when the ship is at anchor. The crew can be violently attacked by armed groups who target cash, expensive equipment and parts of the cargo. Attacks also take place when boats sail in territorial waters and, to a much lesser extent, on the high seas. Crime syndicates are increasingly involved in piracy and typically target relatively small vessels carrying goods that can be sold at high profits on the.