Time and again fingers have been pointed out at some elements of the ruling coalition by some former and present lawmakers from within the administration for their patronage and shielding of extremists. In the allegations made names of a deputy minister and a state minister also came up. It is our belief which is widely shared by many that extremist agenda could not have spread or gained such a momentum but for some form of political patronisation, covert or overt. Now that the top most leader of the JMB has been taken into custody, the information that are expected to come out of the interrogations are likely to prove useful in terms of taking a definitive approach to dealing with the factors of networking, patronisation and all the rest behind the phenomenon. In handling terrorism of the nature what is most needed, besides police action, is a high degree of transparency on the part of the government backed by a strong political will.

It is high time for the administration also to audit and closely investigate workings of some NGOs in order to plumb the depths of their involvement in financing ideological terrorism. We understand that some such NGOs may have been already identified by our intelligence agencies. The administration should move quickly to further probe the matter, and if necessary, shut down those found guilty of complicity in such acts without being entangled in bureaucratic red tape.

With all the support now being readily available there is no reason why we should not be able to deal with terrorism and terrorists with a firm hand sending a clear message to their sponsors and patrons whosoever they may be.