The Southeast Asia Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEACCT) is set to tackle the issue of international money-laundering activities as its first objective, following the opening of the centre in Putrajaya today.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar (left), who officiated, said the centre is scheduled to conduct its first course next month in collaboration with Bank Negara. It will be on understanding international terrorism financing.

"Malaysia and the United States have drafted a memorandum on money-laundering. It is one of the important areas for us to co-operate given the importance of (foreign) financing for internationally organised terrorist groups," he said.

Syed Hamid said the SEACCT is essentially a Malaysian set-up which will host an international centre. It will organise courses, seminars and workshops on terrorism-related subjects with international assistance.

"The centre will examine the causes and origins of terrorism and conduct in-depth studies of terrorist organisations in different parts of the world. Border security will be given special priority," he said.

The centre, temporarily located in Putrajaya, will also be involved in devising plans on how to manage post-terrorism consequences, including those arising from chemical, nuclear and biological warfare.

Not intelligence agency

The idea for a joint Malaysia-US counter-terrorism centre was first proposed in July last year, when US Secretary of State Colin Powell (right) visited Kuala Lumpur.

It was later decided that the centre would be solely managed and funded by Malaysia, but with international assistance for specific courses or programmes.

To quell local concerns, Malaysia also ruled out the possibility of joint military operations with the US or for foreign troops to be stationed in the country.

Elaborating on the centre, Syed Hamid said the SEACCT will be an essentially Malaysian organisation, but that experts from abroad would be invited to conduct courses and seminars.

"Other than a director-general [Zainal Abidin Zain (photo)], there will be deputies who will cover specific areas of expertise and professionalism. Then there will be supporting staff," he said.

Syed Hamid said that, although the centre was under the Foreign Ministry's jurisdiction, it will not be staffed by the ministry's officials with the exception of few individuals, including the director-general.

"There will be people from the police, the military, those involved with surveillance and others involved in conducting the courses," he said.

The minister, however, emphasised that the centre will not be involved in any counter-terrorism operations. Neither will it serve as an intelligence agency although it will work closely with both local and foreign security agencies.

"The centre will work more as a conference organiser and a centre to disseminate information. We can organise a specialised course and it can be funded by another organisation or by another country," he said.

He declined to state the estimated operational costs or of its staff strength, saying only that the details will be revealed after the centre moves into its permanent headquarters in Jalan Conlay in Kuala Lumpur, either in December or January.

No objections from US

Meanwhile, Syed Hamid also downplayed the significance of Malaysia's decision to run the centre and not as a joint venture with the US, saying that there was no "political motive" behind the move.

"Since this does not involve operations, (we felt) it would be better for us to organise the centre ourselves. We discussed the plan with the US and they did not have any objections," he said.

Earlier in his speech, Syed Hamid said there is still a threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia, but that it does not mean that the region is a "frontline" for terrorist activity as claimed by some quarters.

"The terrorist threat in Southeast Asia is really no different from what other regions or countries may face. By far, Southeast Asia is still a region of peace and stability," he told an audience of foreign diplomatic representatives.

"We, in the region, recognise the need for strong bilateral co-operation, solidarity, commitment and trust in the war against terrorism. The pooling of resources has been a key outcome of this."

In addition, the minister urged the international community to come up with a clear definition of terrorism without further delay.

"The United Nations has been struggling to achieve consensus on the definition issue.

"We should not prolong this argument but instead strive to achieve a consensus so that those who are fighting a just cause can see our backing and others, who kill to achieve their own ends, our condemnation," he said.

He said Malaysia's position is that attacks against non-combatants or civilians ought to be considered terrorist attacks, regardless of the cause that the perpetrators intend to highlight.

"We have to determine the root causes of terrorism without justifying violent acts. The struggle for independence against domination or occupation is a legitimate one, but it should not involve people who are non-combatants or civilian populations," he added.