Azahari's terror cell like playing with tykes

Azahari's terror cell like playing with tykes

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Batu, Malang

Who could have known that the two otherwise regular gents known
to neighbors as Budi and Yahya would turn out to be terrorists
bent on unleashing bombs throughout this country?

People still cannot believe it although one of them, Budi,
alias Arman, was killed in the police raid on Wednesday here.
Budi died alongside bombing mastermind Azahari bin Husin during
the raid at their house in the Batu district of Malang, while
Yahya, alias Cholil, had already been captured.

The public persona that Budi and Yahya projected was of warm,
friendly fellows, as evidenced by the interviews on Friday with
their neighbors in a middle-class housing complex.

"I can't believe they were terrorists. They were kind
persons," said Solfan Effendi whose house is next to the one
rented by Azahari.

Solfan recalled how he met Budi and Yahya in September when
the two requested a favor. They asked if Solfan would mind
feeding a water pipe from his house to theirs. "They said the tap
water often stopped flowing into their house so they asked me for
extra access to water," explained Solfan.

Impressed with their politeness, Solfan complied with their
request. He also recalled how meticulous they were about cleaning
up any mess resulting from the water pipe connections. Solfan
also heard from neighbors how they had mingled similarly well
with others.

The 40-year-old man was even more convinced of the good
character of the two as they often showed sincerity toward his
family. Once, they greeted Solfan as he was returning from a
fishing trip.

"Did you get many fish, Sir? You are a terrific angler," Budi
said a few weeks ago, as quoted by Solfan.

To repay their kind attentiveness, Solfan instructed his
servant to deliver some fish to them when she was done cooking
it.

The two were not only friendly to adults, but also to the
neighborhood youngsters. Kevin Irawan, 10, Solfan's oldest child,
was one of several children in the complex that the would-be
terrorists had befriended. Although they had been living in the
house for just a few months, they had often invited the
neighborhood tykes over to visit them at the rented house.

Kevin recalled how he got to know them by playing badminton
with his friend. After seeing Kevin regularly playing the game on
the street, they asked to join in. From that moment, they became
close friends and they even allowed Kevin to play inside their
home.

According to Kevin, the house did not have much furniture. The
boy said he noticed that there were at least two computers in the
house, one of them was always turned on.

Chillingly, just a day before the memorable raid on Wednesday,
Kevin was playing games inside their house and he accidentally
looked into a room that had the door ajar. However, when Yahya
saw him peering in, he swiftly slammed the door shut.

In order to shift Kevin's attention, the two asked Kevin to go
out with them to Bukit Cemara Emas Tourist Resort, which is just
a kilometer from their housing complex. "I was happy when playing
with them. They were nice fellas," he recalled.

The neighbors' collective memory of them as nice gentlemen is
in stark contrast to what they now know them to be -- some of
the most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia. "Had I known they
were terrorists, I would have prevented Kevin from playing with
them," Solfan revealed.