Bomb explodes on Xmas Eve after police chief installed

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An explosion occurred here on Monday morning just minutes after a ceremony installing Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara as the new Jakarta Police chief to replace Comr. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb.

At about 10:20 a.m. a explosive blasted on the roof of a house belonging to pensioner Suhandi M. Harun on Jl. Cikoko Barat III No. 24, Pancoran, South Jakarta.

The bomb was assumed to be a low explosive considering the minor damage to the house. No fatalities were reported due to the incident.

A son of Suhandi, Khairul A. alias Dimas, 22, was sent to the South Jakarta District Police Headquarters as the main witness for further questioning because the explosion occurred on the roof above his room.

Police believe that the blast was linked to three explosions on June 19 in a boarding house located in front of the house due to the similar bomb material, said Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdul Rahman, the South Jakarta Police district chief.

The earlier explosions seriously injured five people and caused extensive damage to the house. Apart from the three homemade bombs, the police found seven live explosives in the boarding house and another boarding house located near the blast site.

The police had questioned about 30 witnesses as well as named Edi Susilo a suspect. Edi, a university student who rented a room where the blast occurred, escaped following the incident. Until now, however, the case remains unsolved.

Interestingly, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar instructed Makbul earlier in the morning to handle the unsolved bombing cases seriously and to fight drug cases.

There have been several bombing cases in the city since 1998, but most of them have not been solved. While drug trafficking is a serious problem here, the major dealers have not been caught.

He also called for the newly-installed Jakarta Police chief to improve the police management in order to serve the public.

The ceremony was attended by some 2,000 guests, including legislative members Dimyati Hartono, Setya Novanto and Permadi, Urban Poor Consortium head Wardah Hafidz, as well as lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution.

Da'i said during the ceremony that job transfer was an organizational matter, saying "it is common".

Makbul, formerly the Jakarta Police deputy chief, was appointed to replace Sofjan, who had lead the Jakarta Police for about seven months. Sofjan is now a senior instructor at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas).

After the ceremony, Makbul told reporters that he would follow established procedures to manage the Jakarta Police.

"I will continue the good work of my predecessor and will evaluate the rest," he said without elaboration.

Makbul, 50, joined a team investigating the attack on the office of the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) on July 27, 1996. The result was unclear.

Among those allegedly involved in the case are former staff chief of the Jakarta Military command Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and former the Jakarta Military command chief Sutiyoso and former Jakarta Police chief Hamamimata.

Unsolved major cases in Jakarta during Sofjan Jacoeb's tenure (May - December 2001)

(No. Crime -- Date):

1. Three explosions in a boarding house on Jl. Cikoko Barat III/23, South Jakarta leaves five people injured. -- June 19

2. A bomb under the Slipi flyover in West Jakarta leaves 13 people injured and one dead. -- July 11

3. A blast under the Mampang Prapatan flyover in South Jakarta leaves six people injured. -- July 15

4. Drive-by shooting on Jl. Warung Buncit Raya, South Jakarta. -- Sept. 1

5. The shooting of lawyer Johnson Panjaitan in a parking lot outside the Indonesia Legal Aid Institute on Jl. Cikini, Central Jakarta. -- Sept. 12

6. Father, daughter murdered in Jelambar area, West Jakarta. -- Oct. 5

7. Two killed during robbery in Bungur area, Central Jakarta. -- Oct. 25