KUALA LUMPUR - "Terrorism does not disappear with one person's death. That person is not important, but his ideology is. What is in the heart and mind is more dangerous and a threat if allowed to prevail."
Those were the words of a former senior leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Nasir Abbas, in an interview with Bernama almost 15 years ago.
The interview was held following the death of Malaysian national Noordin Mat Top, the leader of a radical splinter group known as Tandzim Al-Qoidah Indonesia, who was killed during an anti-terrorism operation in Kepuhsari, Solo, Central Java, on Sept 17, 2009.
When Nasir was active in JI, he was appointed to head the group's operations in Labuan, Sabah, southern Philippines, and Celebes before being arrested by the Indonesian authorities in 2003.
After spending 10 months in jail, the Malaysian national cooperated with the Indonesian authorities in the country's deradicalisation programme to assist his former associates in leaving militant and extremist ideologies behind.
After over a decade following the death of Noordin, who was buried in Pontian, Johor, Nasir's words seemed to become a reality as the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain announced today that the male suspect shot dead in an attack at Ulu Tiram police station in Johor early this morning is believed to be a JI member.
Razarudin's statement that revealed more than 20 JI members have been detected in Johor evokes the memory of how the southern state became the field of religious activities conducted by the group at Madrasah Luqmanul Hakim in Ulu Tiram between 1996 and 1997.
"The father of the suspect (in the Ulu Tiram police station attack) is a member of JI, and the suspect's home contains information related to JI," he told reporters earlier today.
Madrasah Luqmanul Hakim became the meeting point for Nasir and Noordin, their associate, bomb expert Dr Azahari Hussin, and JI co-founders Indonesians Abu Bakar Bashir and Abdullah Sungkar.
It became a breeding ground for militant and extremist ideologies before the authorities shut it down.
Ulu Tiram is located about 19 kilometres from Johor Bahru and falls within the Tebrau parliamentary constituency under the jurisdiction of the Johor Bahru City Council, with a population of about 14,717 people.
Geostrategist and Senior Fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research Dr Azmi Hassan suggested the possibility that the attack on the police station that killed two police officers could be instigated by a new generation of JI in the country.
"I can say JI's original members didn't carry it out, but there may still be remnants of old terrorist members and foreign preachers encouraging them (the new generation) to carry out such attacks.
"...because traditionally, the police force is a symbol of government strength and sovereignty, and at the very least, they wanted to take over the station and obtain weapons," he told Bernama.
Azmi claimed the modus operandi of this attack resembles the actions carried out by the Al-Ma'unah militant group members who stormed military camps to obtain firearms.
Meanwhile, a national security analyst, Datuk Dr Ruhanie Ahmad, hoped that the tragedy involving the Ulu Tiram police station would be thoroughly investigated to determine if any terrorist organisations, regional or global, were involved.
He stressed the importance of preventing any party from manipulating the perception that Malaysia is a hotbed for terrorist organisations in Southeast Asia following the incident.
"We need to be cautious of various elements of world powers that always seek to exploit the issue of terrorism to enable them to interfere in the national security affairs of strategically important countries in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia," he said.
Ruhanie also expressed his confidence in the credibility of the nation's security forces in handling the case effectively.
In the 2.45am attack on the Ulu Tiram police station, two policemen, aged 22 and a 21-year-old suspect, were killed, while another security personnel was injured. - BERNAMA