Mindful of how a hardline approach could backfire and create a new generation of extremists, Malaysia has taken a softer approach towards the deradicalisation of Islamic militants — and the move has paid off, said Mr Nur Jazlan, the country’s Deputy Home Minister.

In an interview with TODAY, he disclosed that counselling, spiritual guidance and vocational training are among the underpinnings of Malaysia’s successful approach to deradicalising the militants.

“A (purely) hard approach in the fight against terrorism would not really work,” he said. “In fact, it will breed a new generation of radical Muslims.”

… Both countries place a strong emphasis on counselling sessions with detainees and follow-up meetings and monitoring after their release, said Mr Romain Quivooij, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Still, he said, a hard approach to combat terrorism is indispensable and necessary.

… Dr Rohan Gunaratna, who heads the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University’s RSIS, noted that both Malaysia and Singapore’s deradicalisation programmes are among the most successful in the region due to their “structured” nature.