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THE recent exposure of a terror network run by educated professionals in India has revealed an unsettling new dimension of extremism, one that blurs the line between legitimate professions and violent ideology.
Doctors, academics, and religious leaders were found using their social credibility, digital expertise, and international networks to facilitate terrorist activities.
This development holds important lessons for Malaysia, where an increasingly educated, connected, and mobile population could inadvertently offer the same opportunities for extremist exploitation if safeguards are not strengthened.
The new face of terrorism: Educated insiders
Terrorism has evolved beyond the image of radicalised youth or militants in remote camps. The more insidious threat today is “white-collar terror” where educated, respected individuals leverage their professional roles to advance extremist causes.
These individuals have access to funding channels, sensitive information, and trusted social positions that make their activities difficult to detect.
For Malaysia, this means counter-terrorism frameworks must go beyond community surveillance or online monitoring. The possibility that radical sympathisers might emerge within academia, medicine, finance, or even public institutions must now be treated as a realistic risk.
Professionals can inadvertently become enablers by offering legitimacy, resources, or expertise that sustain extremist ecosystems.
Funding networks and digital coordination
(Image: The Law Society)
White-collar terrorism thrives on sophisticated funding and digital communication. Instead of cash transactions or open militant support, funding may be channelled through charities, scholarship funds, or professional associations that appear legitimate. Encryption and anonymous financial tools add another layer of difficulty for law enforcement.
Malaysia’s open economy, cross-border trade, and vibrant civil-society landscape make it particularly vulnerable to such manipulation.
Authorities must therefore enhance scrutiny of digital donations, charitable organisations, and professional societies – not to suppress them, but to ensure transparency and accountability.
Advanced data-sharing between financial regulators, communication agencies, and security bodies should be prioritised to detect covert money flows and encrypted coordination.
Professional accountability and institutional ethics
One of the most challenging aspects of combating white-collar terror is that perpetrators often operate under the cover of legitimate professions.
A medical practitioner may misuse a humanitarian network for terror funding; an academic may recruit under the guise of research collaboration; a cleric may radicalise followers through coded religious rhetoric.
To prevent this, Malaysia can strengthen ethical oversight within professional institutions. Licensing bodies should require members to uphold codes that explicitly reject and report extremist facilitation.
Mandatory awareness and ethics training could help doctors, lawyers, and educators recognise how extremist recruitment might occur within their sectors. Such measures build a protective layer within society not through state surveillance, but through professional responsibility.
Protecting symbolic and public spaces
While white-collar actors often operate in the background, the violent outcomes of their support frequently manifest in public spaces.
High-density areas such as religious places, transport hubs, entertainment districts, and heritage sites remain attractive targets because of their visibility and psychological impact. Even small explosions or vehicle-based incidents can trigger large-scale panic and economic disruption.
Malaysia’s urban centres like Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor Bahru must be viewed through this security lens. Public infrastructure should integrate “hybrid threat” planning that accounts for both traditional and insider-enabled attacks.
Emergency drills, surveillance systems, and local policing capacity must be continuously upgraded to ensure readiness without creating fear or over-policing.
Inter-agency intelligence and community cooperation
The complexity of white-collar terror requires cooperation that transcends bureaucratic silos. Intelligence agencies, police, financial regulators, and professional bodies must share data swiftly and securely. When potential threats arise within legitimate institutions, coordination across ministries and sectors becomes crucial.
However, security alone cannot sustain resilience. Building trust between the government and professional communities is equally vital. Professionals must feel confident that cooperation with security agencies will be handled fairly, without stigma or political misuse. Transparency, legal safeguards, and clearly defined channels for reporting suspicious activity can help maintain this delicate balance.
Preventing radicalisation among professionals
(Image: Getty Images)
White-collar radicalisation often begins with ideological persuasion rather than financial desperation. Educated individuals may be drawn to extremist narratives that present themselves as intellectual, moral, or religious “purity”. Universities, research institutions, and professional conferences can thus become spaces for ideological infiltration.
Malaysia should develop targeted counter-radicalisation programmes within higher education and professional associations. This includes fostering critical thinking, media literacy, and open debate, so that extremist rhetoric finds less traction among those trained to question rather than blindly believe.
Dialogue and mentorship programmes that connect young professionals to civic leaders and moderate religious scholars can help prevent isolation or ideological manipulation.
Balancing security and liberty
Countering white-collar terrorism requires vigilance, but it must not create a climate of paranoia or discrimination. The goal is not to profile professionals or suppress civil society, but to ensure that the same intelligence and integrity that drive professional excellence also protect the nation’s security.
Malaysia’s strength lies in its pluralism and social trust. These must not be eroded in the pursuit of safety. Instead, they should be leveraged: a collective defence where citizens, professionals, and institutions recognise their shared role in preventing extremism.
White-collar terrorism represents a strategic evolution in extremist movements, one that exploits intellect, legitimacy, and technology rather than brute force alone. Malaysia must learn from recent international cases that exposed how professionals can be co-opted into radical networks without overt signs of violence.
The response requires more than policing: it demands an ecosystem of integrity, accountability, and vigilance across every professional domain.
By embedding ethical awareness, financial transparency, and digital intelligence into its national security framework, Malaysia can stay ahead of this emerging threat.
Terrorism no longer wears a uniform or hides in remote camps; sometimes, it wears a suit and carries a degree. Recognising that reality is the first step toward protecting the nation’s future. ‒ Nov 13, 2025
R Paneir Selvam is the principal consultant of Arunachala Research & Consultancy Sdn Bhd (ARRESCON), a think tank specialising in strategic national and geopolitical matters.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
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