Matori's attack remains mystery
JAKARTA (JP): The city police have failed to uncover the motive or the mastermind behind the March 5 attempted murder of National Awakening Party Chairman Matori Abdul Djalil at his South Jakarta residence.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi said a key factor in the investigation was the apprehension of the two suspects, who are still at large.
"You have to understand that what we have now is all dead evidence. We have to arrest Assadullah and Ichwan (the two fugitives) to explain the evidence," Nurfaizi said.
Matori, also Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, suffered severe injuries to his head and hand after being attacked by a man, later identified as Sarmo, alias Tarmo, who managed to escape from the scene with an accomplice on a motorcycle.
According to police, the two abandoned the motorcycle after being repeatedly struck by stones thrown by pursuers. They then stopped an ojek (motorcycle taxi) and forced the driver to give them a ride.
At the nearby Jagakarsa area, the two asked the ojek driver to pull over. After stopping the two fled in different directions. Thinking that the two refused to pay the fare, onlookers then mobbed Tarmo to death. His accomplice Achmad Tazul Arifin, alias Sabar, was arrested a few days later.
Based on Sabar's testimony, police named Assadullah and Ichwan as the other suspects in the case. Detectives were then assigned to track Assadullah's home in Cibitung, Bekasi, and Ichwan's residence in Petamburan. Central Jakarta.
At the two addresses, officers found 83 detonators, one hand grenade, seven maps of West Java and Jakarta, four passports bearing the names of four different men, notebooks on warfare, notes on how to make a bomb, designs of several rifles and guns, and notes on how to construct one.
One of the maps depicts the South Jakarta subdistrict of Ciganjur, which is also the neighborhood of President Abdurrahman Wahid's private residence.
Although the Ciganjur map provides no other information, the Jakarta Police worry that the suspects might also have the President on their list of targets.
"The targets may have included the President as you pointed out. When it comes to politics, a president of any country can become a target. (The former U.S.) President (John F.) Kennedy is one example," Nurfaizi said.
A police officer close to the investigation said earlier that detectives were having difficulty making a case from the available evidence.
"The more we analyze, the more baffling the case becomes," he said.
According to Nurfaizi, there was a good possibility that the men had received their warfare training abroad.
"I feel 60 percent certain these men were trained in Moro (Philippines). Moro hardliners are known for their sadistic ways," he said, giving no further explanation.
Some pages in the textbook on rifle and gun design, for instance, depicts different kinds of grenade launching rifles, including a Polish-made rifle. (ylt)