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| Image: Flickr User - AK Rockefeller |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
Regional counter-messaging center to be set up “within this year,” top official confirms.
Malaysia will set up a regional center to counter messaging from the Islamic State (IS) with the help of the United States by the end of this year, the country’s deputy prime minister said.
As I reported previously, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak had told the Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism at the United Nations on September 29 that Malaysia is eying the formation of a “regional, digital counter-messaging center” because Southeast Asia lacks such a facility (See: “Malaysia Eyes New Regional Facility to Counter Islamic State”). His remarks came after Malaysia officially joined the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, joining Singapore as the only two ASEAN states in the grouping thus far.
Officials have said that the center would be similar to the one the United States has launched together with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July this year, designed to counter IS’s social media strength and sophistication and present a more positive alternative to the vision the group has outlined.
This week, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the Regional Digital Counter-Messaging Communication Center (RDC3) would be set up within the year with the assistance of the United States. He called the center a “vital” part of the fight against the group.
Read the full story at The Diplomat