Closed Consultation with Malaysian Civil Society Organisations on ‘the National Action Plan on Prevention and Counter Violent Extremism (NAPPCVE)’

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Platform: Zoom Webinar
Date: 22nd December 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 2.00 pm – 5.30 pm (MYT)
Attendance: 25 representatives from diverse Malaysian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)

The Drafting Committee of the National Action Plan on Prevention and Counter Violent Extremism (NAPPCVE/NAP) organised a town hall on 18th November 2021 at Tenera Hotel to acquire feedback from Malaysian CSOs on the NAP zero draft. As of date, several CSOs who joined the consultation indicated that the process was selective and hasty. As of date, only three government-CSOs consultations were organised with a limited number of CSOs to give feedback on a zero draft that has been decided as opposed to being involved in the drafting process. It was concluded that the ongoing consultation process is exclusive and not transparent. Some of the most important CSOs who have directly or indirectly worked in the areas of Prevention/Counter of Violent Extremism (P/CVE) and human rights were not being involved and properly consulted. It is clear that the government is not serious about adopting the interdisciplinary “All-of-society” and “All-of-government” approach to address the drivers of violent extremism as mandated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 70/674 (2015). This should not have happened for a national-level policymaking process.

In response, INITIATE.MY organised an independent consultation on NAP on 22nd December 2021 with more than 25 representatives from a wider Malaysian CSOs to collect feedback and recommendations on the NAP drafting process. The participants agreed that the NAP process should be a stepping stone for the government to show honest commitments to address extremism and greater accountability in the security area. Hence, the role of CSOs is vital in a national-level democratic process like the NAP to localise the approaches and ensure the sustainable impacts in addressing violent extremism. The independent consultation has resulted in the collection of feedback and recommendations to develop holistic NAP, and the formation of the first civil society P/CVE network in Malaysia to exchange knowledge and best practices in relation to P/CVE. The outcome of this consultation was documented in a report on Malaysian Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs) Recommendations on the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (NAPPCVE).