Goh happy about RI action on terrorism

Goh happy about RI action on terrorism

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in remarks published on Monday he was "happy" Indonesia had begun cracking down on terror suspects in the country and stressed the region needed to work together to root out terrorist cells in Southeast Asia.

Now that Jakarta had formally detained a radical Muslim cleric accused of links to terrorism and issued new anti-terror decrees, it was vital that Southeast Asia pressed on with efforts "to rip out the infrastructure of terrorism," the Straits Times newspaper quoted Goh as saying.

"If we are able to disrupt the terrorist network and are seen to be doing so, in the coming months... people will begin to have confidence again."

Goh said security agencies in the region should go beyond sharing intelligence and block the flow of funds to terrorists as well as co-operate across borders to arrest fleeing suspects.

On the economic front, Southeast Asia must be seen working together in areas such as boosting intra-regional trade and promoting regional tourism in order to counter the impact on airlines and the tourism industry, Goh said.

The 61-year-old premier said he was "happy" that Jakarta had begun taking "tough action against terrorist suspects" although "it's sad that it took a tragedy for them to move."

Indonesian authorities, under fire overseas for inaction against extremists, have cracked down on terror suspects since the devastating Bali bombing on Oct. 12.

Jakarta announced tough new anti-terrorism powers over the weekend, including the death penalty to fight terrorism and detention without trial.

Indonesian police also arrested radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, 64, in his hospital bed after naming him as a suspect in a series of Christmas eve bombings in 2000.

Ba'asyir, an avowed admirer of Osama bin Laden, is not a suspect in the Bali blast but for his alleged involvement with an alleged al-Qaeda operative who was arrested in Indonesia and later handed over to U.S. authorities.

Singapore and Malaysia also accuse Ba'asyir of terror links in Southeast Asia through the Jamaah Islamiyah of which he is the alleged spiritual leader.