Imam Samudra gets surprise visit from estranged father

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

There were no tears in his eyes, but everybody could see the 63- year-old man was deeply touched by his brief meeting on Friday with his son, Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind of the Bali bombing that killed over 190 people.

"I am so happy to see him. The people can consider him as a very cruel guy or whatever they like, but he is my son. Good or bad he is still and will be my son forever, and I love him," Achmad Sihabuddin Nakai said after meeting with Samudra at the Bali Police headquarters in Denpasar.

Sihabuddin, hailing from the Banten town of Serang, has been separated from his son for the past 15 years.

At the time, his family had fallen apart when Sihabuddin took a second wife. His first wife, Embay Badriah who is Samudra's mother, rejected the union and demanded a divorce.

Sihabuddin then divorced her. Since then he was denied a face- to-face talks with Samudra, a quiet young boy who became deeply immersed in Islamic teachings.

Worst still, the relationships between the son and the father turned sour after the divorce.

"He (Samudra) never contacted me. A child is a gift from Allah. But the parents failed to give him proper guidance and education," Sihabuddin regretted.

It was remorse that gave the father the strength to seek a way to meet his son when he heard that Samudra was arrested on Nov. 21 for allegedly masterminding the Oct. 12 blasts in Bali.

He then flew on Dec. 19 to the resort island, where he moved from one cheap hotel to another to stay, while negotiating his way through the police bureaucracy.

"A high-ranking officer once gave me permission to visit Samudra. But the permission was later canceled at the last moment by deputy Bali Police chief Brig. Gen Herman Hidayat. He called me, gave me Rp 200,000 and asked me to return to Serang," Sihabuddin recalled.

He refused to go home. Accompanied by Samudra's lawyers, A.W. Adnan and Lutfhie Hakim, he went to the Bali Police headquarters for one last attempt.

In the pocket of his faded brown Batik shirt was a two-page letter, written with blue ink on cheap paper, addressed to Samudra.

In the letter, which began with an Arabic phrase praising Allah and contained fatherly expressions of grief and care, he called Samudra a loving son.

"If they (the police) did not allow me to see my son, it must have been the will of Allah. And I would have asked them to give this letter to my son," Sihabuddin said.

Fortunately, the police later changed their mind and let him meet Samudra on Friday at the Provost detainment building inside the Bali Police headquarters.

Bars of steel standing between them failed to deny the longing father a joy and fulfillment he had been yearning for the past 15 years.

"I shook his hand. He looked fine. I then told him three things I consider the most important in this life," Sihabuddin said.

First, that desperation is what angers Allah most. Second, life is a test, and third, Sunnah Rasul (the words and deeds of Prophet Muhammad) as a guide for Muslims.

Samudra responded to the advice by stating Insya Allah (If it's Allah's will).

Even though it was a brief meeting that lasted less than five minutes, Sihabuddin was content.

"I apologize for all mistakes and wrongdoings that I have made to him, my other children, his mother and Allah. I ask for forgiveness for not caring him and educating him properly," he said.

"He (Samudra) told me that he has already forgiven me. It was truly a relief for me," the father added.