'Monitoring Internet bad for business'

Upon the basis of evident that terrorist suspects used the Internet to communicate with their network, the City Police recently called for Internet kiosk (warnet) owners to stay vigilant in keeping track of users' identities, particularly those who are not regular customers. The same call has been made to community unit chiefs (RW) and neighborhood unit chiefs (RT), in particular to be on the alert for strangers in their areas. The Jakarta Post asked people for their thoughts on this call.

Anto, 23, works at a warnet in Blok M, South Jakarta. He lives on Jl. Fatmawati, South Jakarta, with his family:

I have not heard about the city police warning that we should keep track of our customers.

But if that's true, I have to say that I won't be able to comply with the instruction.

I won't have the time to check the customers' IDs one by one. Nor do I have the heart to be suspicious of any of our customers.

Besides, terrorists are usually very smart and tricky. So, I doubt they'll be so stupid as to use a public Internet facility to contact their networks.

Many people now have their own Internet connection at home, so they don't need to go to an Internet cafe.

In addition, it would be too difficult to keep a record of Internet usage once the surfers disconnect.

If it were possible, it would surely take a long time and in the end, won't benefit us anyway.

If the security apparatus or the government provides the software or appropriate devices, maybe it could work. But this probably won't happen.

I'm sure people will be reluctant to go to Internet cafes now, in fear of being suspected as a terrorist or something.

Haryanto, 42, is a neighborhood unit chief in Tangerang. He lives in Kutajaya, Tangerang with his wife and son:

The police's call to monitor all residents in a neighborhood comes somewhat late. I have already been closely monitoring my area for quite a while now.

I have tried to file newcomers' ID cards, because there many newcomers to my neighborhood, which is very close to the industrial areas -- many workers rent houses here.

I have also told all respected figures in my community to monitor their environment.

There is one group of people who have formed a kind of exclusive community, based on their religious belief.

As far as I know, they don't interact with any neighbors who aren't part of their group, even if they're of the same religion.

The group was getting bigger, so I personally approached the head of their group and asked them to respect their neighbors and mingle with them socially.

This has worked quite well. Some -- not all -- of them are trying to act as normal neighbors do.

Some Muslim people in my neighborhood have even complained about them, but I'm doing my best to try and maintain the peace.

Deslie, 25, is a warnet attendant in West Jakarta. He lives in Slipi, West Jakarta, with his family:

The police's instruction to monitor the surfers is too much, really. It sounds weird to have to monitor the visitors one by one and then, all of sudden, ask for their identity cards.

It just seems impolite and insulting to ask people for their ID. Anyway, we are aware that Internet access is very private, and we don't have the right to intrude upon our customers' privacy.

The warnet's target segment is students. It's impossible that they're terrorists, right? So the instruction is not applicable here.

The instruction is difficult to comply with, anyway. The Internet is not like the telephone, which is easier to trace.

Besides, I'm sure that the terrorist networks have their own operation center.

Technology is so advanced now that everyone can access the Internet anywhere they want. The terrorists certainly know that.

If we comply with the instruction, we will certainly lose our customers because of the inconvenience we'd cause.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.