Leaders want govt to act on terrorism

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.