'I hate terrorists, they're evil'

The bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in South Jakarta demonstrated the difficulty in preventing terrorist attacks through good intelligence work. Some critics have attacked the government for failing to take the necessary steps to strengthen the country's security services. The Jakarta Post discussed the Marriott bombing with several residents to get their reactions to the tragedy.

Alex, 43, lives in Bekasi with his wife and three children:

It is hard to describe how I feel about the bombing. It's beyond human imagination. The attacks were so merciless and evil, killing so many innocent people.

I take pity on the innocent families who lost loved ones. I cannot imagine if it happened to me.

I feel terribly sad and angry at the same time. I hate the terrorists, whosoever they are. They are evil.

I cannot imagine how the country's economy will recover following the bombing. The terrorist attack has undoubtedly set back recovery.

It is an obvious example of the threats we face. Why should the courts waste time and money on the terrorist suspects? And what are our intelligence bodies doing?

The most appropriate punishment for terrorists is death. I think everyone would agree with that. If they don't get death they will just commit the same evil crimes again, killing many more innocent people.

Johnson Panjaitan, 36, is a lawyer at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute in Cikini, Central Jakarta. He lives in Tangerang with his wife and son:

I think the terrorist threat does and will always exist here. Our government is too satisfied and talks too much about its great achievement in arresting the Bali bombing suspects.

In addition, intelligence has become so weak that it fails to respond to early warnings.

I think this is the consequence for a country that does not do anything to curb the trade in weapons and explosives. The trade is too free as there is no auditing system by the government.

The inequitable distribution of money and opportunities has led to public desperation, which has sparked violence and radicalism.

As a result, there are feelings of injustice, which is conducive to the emergence of violence and terrorism.

The government should take action against the trade in firearms and explosives. It should also be open-minded about receiving help from weapons and explosives experts.

I am sure that terrorism will increase because of the lack of concrete action to curb it, poor law enforcement and intelligence weaknesses.

Gareng (not his real name), 31, works at a U.S.-based organization in South Jakarta. He lives in Setiabudi, South Jakarta:

I reckon that the recent bombing caused all of the expatriates here panic. However, we haven't received any threats as not many people know that our organization is related to the U.S.

I am awfully sad about the casualties (in the bombing). One of my colleague's relatives was killed in the bombing.

I condemn the terrorist attack. It was sadistic murder that victimized many innocent people. Terrorists always make victims of ordinary people.

I assume that the perpetrators were just losers, psychologically speaking.

I think death is what the terrorists deserve for their actions. As soon as the terrorists are found guilty, the judges should sentence them to death.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.