JOHOR BARU: The Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) revealed that terrorist groups are now using online video games to recruit young people to join their movement.
The trend, which is seen as the latest threat to the country, was detected through horizon scanning carried out by SEARCCT to identify new potential threats to national security.
Horizon scanning in the context of national security is a term which refers to a special system or method to identify and predict future threats involving the use of the internet and social media in the country.
SEARCCT director of research and publication Kennimrod Sariburaja said online video games are very popular among the younger generation and are widely used.
"We found that online video games are very extensive and very difficult to monitor because it has its own gaming chat room.
"It allows only certain members who have access to enter the chat room, thus allowing the administrator to exclusively filter who is allowed to enter the chat room.
"This video game chat room can not only be used to secretly spread the ideology of extremism, but also become a place to recruit members of terrorist groups or militants among young people in this region, including our country," he said during a discourse on the Sustainability of National Security, Unity and Harmony at the National Unity Week 2024 event held here yesterday.
Also present was National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang, ministry secretary-general Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof; deputy secretary general Mohamad Sobri Mat Daud and National Unity and Integration Department director-general Datuk Che Roslan Che Daud.
Kennimrod said that the phenomenon of using online video games as a platform to recruit the young to join terrorist groups has been growing in Southeast Asia.
"Last year, two teenagers aged 15 and 16 in Singapore were arrested for being recruited by a terrorist group to carry out attacks in the republic through online video game chat rooms.
"This threat is not only detected in neighbouring countries, but has the potential to grow in our country if comprehensive monitoring is not carried out starting at home, especially by parents.
"The terrorist group's modus operandi of recruiting the young generation has long spread in Western countries, especially right-wing extremist groups. In fact, these groups created online video games specifically to recruit new members in the West," he said.
He said children in this country are exposed to online video games from as early as 10-years-old.
"This phenomenon needs to be examined so that it is not used as a platform to recruit young people to radical extremism that can risk national security. It is important for parents to monitor their children," he said.
In Dec 2022, a 15-year-old Singaporean student with radical beliefs was reported to be the youngest to be issued with an Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Singapore.
He was accused of planning to carry out attacks on people in popular tourist areas of the republic in addition to being a suicide bomber.
The teenager is one of two youths detained under the ISA.
Another was a 16-year-old student who was placed under a Restriction Order , which restricts his movement and prevents him from making public statements.
Kennimrod said the average Malaysian's internet usage is eight hours and 17 minutes, every day.
This makes Malaysians the most active internet users in Southeast Asia, and third in the world, behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
"Malaysia's internet users have succeeded in beating other Southeast Asian countries with larger populations, including Indonesia in second place, followed by the Philippines and Thailand," he said.
He also stressed that in addition to the threat of online video games, Malaysia is also facing the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) technology as well as deepfakes which are believed to be the next wave in the battle over fake and distorted information online.