Terror funders under watch
By Terence Fernandez, The Sun
PUTRAJAYA (July 10, 2011): The registrar of societies (ROS) has a new role to play – identify societies that are being used as a front to fund terrorism activities.
Its director-general, Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman, said apart from doing house cleaning in deregistering dormant societies, the registrar has also been tasked with identifying societies which support subversive elements and that can pose a threat to national or global security.
“The registrar is party to discussions on terrorism links to societies in Malaysia, alongside other government agencies like the Companies Commission of Malaysia and Bank Negara,” Abdul Rahman said last week.
He said the registrar had previously identified fronts for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and groups like Jemaah Islamiyah.
However, he said the registrar is powerless when it comes to Islamic organisations as they fall under the jurisdiction of the state Islamic authorities.
He said the registrar had taken part in an Asia-Pacific regional conference in March which opened its eyes to the possibility of terrorism groups using harmless-looking societies to fund their activities.
“Based on experiences heard at the conference, the ROS is gearing up to monitor non-profit organisations that have been used to launder money for terrorism activities,” he said. “We heard that monies are banked into individual accounts usually.”
Abdul Rahman said the registrar is cleaning up its rolls and deregistering dormant societies; up to 500 organisations a month. These include societies that do not hold annual general meetings for some time.
The registrar receives around 2,500 new applications each year.
He added that political parties were also under the purview of the registrar which had deregistered two Umno branches and one MCA branch for breaching various codes under the Societies Act.
“There are 30 applications to form political parties and we are considering them. If they follow the rules, there is nothing to prevent us from approving the application.”
On organisations such as Bersih being declared illegal, Abdul Rahman said at times the registrar must also adhere to instructions from the Home Ministry, especially if the authorities feel such movements may be detrimental to national security.
