The tiny minority of extremists seems to have a bit of support among Malaysian authorities. From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia has released from prison a man who allegedly financed the deadly Bali bombings in 2002, as well as five other suspects who trained with weapons and explosives in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.None of the six had ever been charged with a crime. All had been imprisoned under laws that allow for indefinite detention without trial.
Wan Min Wan Mat, a former university lecturer who was detained in 2002, allegedly provided about US$30,500 to members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group to carry out the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
Wan Min was released on Monday "after he had shown remorse over his past actions and militant-like views," a security official told The Associated Press on customary condition of anonymity. He did not elaborate.
Oh! He showed remorse! That makes it all OK!
Malaysia is endowed with many natural resources. And among its human resources, the Chinese and Indian communities have been harnessed to pull the wagon of the national economy, and though discriminated against at every turn, and forced to pay the disguised jizya of the Bumiputra system, have remained to help further Malaysian economic growth. But they can only stand so much of this domestic exploitation. Without the non-Muslims, the Malaysian economy would sink. The brief period of growth was the result of low labor costs -- but now China itself can undercut the costs in Malaysia for those putting together computer components. And if the Muslims who rule Malaysia do not start crushing terrorists, and ending the Bumiputra system, and continue to treat non-Muslims as second-class citizens (or worse) those Chinese and Indians will leave, and the country will sink, economically, to the level that Muslim countries without the accidental wealth of oil and gas, do sink --when there is no significant community of non-Muslims to exploit, emulate, latch onto.
"Shown remorse". Really. Well, by all means, let the murderer go. What a great idea, even if it is a bit un-islamic, supposedly. I guess it depends what culture the murderer comes from.
Geoff