Leaders want govt to act on terrorism

Apriadi Gunawan and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Medan/Jakarta

Indonesian Muslim leaders called on the government on Sunday to act quickly to limit the possible damage in its current row with Singapore over the latter's accusations that Indonesia is harboring terrorists.

Chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization the Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, said the government had to follow up the accusation made by Singapore's senior minister Lee Kuan Yew with further investigation.

"If he (Lee) has the evidence, the police must act quickly based on that evidence," Hasyim was quoted by Antara as saying in Situbondo, East Java.

"If we are not quick, the U.S. will have every reason to act based on the statement by Lee. In fact, Lee is wrong because he mixed up Islam with terrorists," he added.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said Lee's statement was not worth commenting on since it was merely meant to stir up public debate rather than set out substantiated facts.

"Lee Kuan Yew is entitled to his own opinion. As long as his statement is meant to provoke a public debate, let him talk. But once he intervenes in Indonesia's internal affairs, I will mobilize a group of people to uphold democracy in Singapore," Gus Dur said in Medan, North Sumatra, on Sunday. He did not elaborate.

Lee said, in a newspaper interview, that Singapore was still under the threat of terrorism as regional terrorist leaders were roaming around free here, creating the impression that Indonesia was harboring them.

His statement irked the Indonesian government, which promptly summoned Singapore's top diplomat in Jakarta to demand an explanation from the city state.

Singapore stood by Lee's statement, stating that it had accurate data on existing terrorist cells in Surakarta, Central Java. It also denied intervening in Indonesia's internal affairs.

The Indonesian Police sent on Wednesday their top detective team, led by Insp. Gen. Engkesman Hillep, to try and interrogate arrested suspects in Singapore and Malaysia.

Arrested suspects in both countries claimed that they had received directions from three "Indonesian figures." The Indonesians were identified as Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir from Surakarta, independent preacher Hambali, currently on the run and believed by Singaporean and Malaysian authorities to be in Indonesia, and Abu Jibril, who has been in detention in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since last June.

Indonesian Police Inspector General Comr. Gen. Ahwil Luthan said on Friday that despite having received intelligence from both Malaysia and Singapore on the three Muslim clerics, the Indonesian Police had yet to see any hard evidence.

Despite strained diplomatic ties between the two countries, business ties between Indonesia and Singapore remain unaffected.

Singaporean diplomats and Indonesian businesspeople said that business activities between both countries were as normal and that the general public in Singapore had not yet expressed any ill-feeling toward Indonesians there.

"Business relations remain good ... we recently went to Singapore for business meetings and everything went smoothly, without any problems," Edy, a director of Barelang Woods Industry, Batam, said on Sunday.

Senior Singaporean diplomat Ajit Singh added that currently there were no problems with business ties between the two countries and that Singaporean investors in Batam island, Indonesia, remained in the majority.

This positive sentiment is, however, not shared by many in Indonesia, who believe the government needs to exercise more caution in dealing with the issues raised by Lee's statements.

"A rupture in diplomatic relations with Singapore will have a direct impact on the sustainability of Singaporean investment in Batam and Indonesia," chairman of the Indonesian Economics Scholars Association (Batam Chapter) Haryono said on Sunday, as quoted by Antara.

There were about 530 foreign investors in Batam island, Haryono said, who represented a total investment of about US$ 8.3 billion, and employed about 170,000 workers. Eighty percent of the foreign investors were Singaporean citizens.