MALAYSIA: Dr Mahathir Will defend Langkawi in GE15

Posted by Asia Views | Oct 11, 2022 | 0 |

MalayMail-Oct 11

Former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today confirmed he will seek reelection by defending his Langkawi parliamentary seat in the coming general election. However, the Opposition lawmaker did not indicate if he is presenting himself as candidate to be prime minister again, saying the issue depends on whether the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition helmed by his Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) wins the polls or otherwise. “PM candidates are only relevant if we win. If we lose, it is not relevant,” he told a news conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here. Dr Mahathir also said GTA plans to field 120 candidates nationwide in the 15th general election. “We will contest in at least 120 seats, including in Sabah,” he said. He added that the coalition candidates will stand under Pejuang’s banner as the Registrar of Society has yet to approve GTA’s application.The sole exception would be in Kelantan, where GTA candidates will stand under the banner of Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), which is led by Datuk Ibrahim Ali as president. Dr Mahathir said the full list of GTA candidates will be announced by its respective party presidents in the near future. GTA filed its registration as a political coalition on September 6. GTA comprises four parties, namely Pejuang, Putra, Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and the Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman). Read more at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/10/11/dr-mahathir-says-will-defend-langkawi-in-ge15/32950

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

MALAYSIA: Dr Mahathir Will defend Langkawi in GE15

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