ABSTRACT
Throughout the years, Malaysia has faced threats of radicalism from numerous groups. The radical groups are not only domestically based inside Malaysia, but come from multilateral groups within the region. Islam has always been the main reason for these threats and has been manipulated creatively in order to justify their struggles. This has led to extreme radical ideology which has drastically increased the complexity of the threats. Malaysia had conducted various strategies of deradicalization and rehabilitation programmes with ongoing modification to suit the challenges faced especially after the 9/11 disaster. Hence, this chapter will discuss the continuous measures taken by the government in handling radical groups in Malaysia. We focus on two phases of deradicalization: the first phase was during the activation of the Internal Security Act (ISA) 1969, and the second phase was after the repeal of the act in 2012. The study uses a qualitative approach, using a historical sociology method by collecting sources done through data analysis, interview and library research. Findings from this study revealed that the government has formulated several strategies commensurate with the current level of threats so as to ensure that they can cope with the conflicts.
