'Poor coordination' allows bombing

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Lack of coordination among security officers has been blamed for what has been seen as a poor early warning system, which is one reason they were unable to prevent Thursday's bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Legislators and an analyst on Friday urged the intelligence and the security offices to improve coordination in anticipation of more terrorist attacks.

"The bombing outside the Australian Embassy is a wake-up call for us all. There is no institution coordinating security to anticipate such an horrific incident," said Irman G. Lanti, research director of The Habibie Center here said.

He called for the establishment of an institution that would coordinate between all agencies that deal with security. The institution, he said, could be made permanent or become an ad hoc office for consultation on security affairs.

Irman urged the government to monitor more closely all people as well as materials that move into the country.

House of Representatives (DPR)'s security commission deputy chairman Amris Hasan, meanwhile, said that the establishment of an institution to coordinate activities in dealing with national security was urgent.

Amris from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that the institution should consist of at least the National Police, the intelligence services, immigration and the antimoney laundering office.

"The National Police alone are not sufficient because they cannot trace the transfer of money from overseas," he said.

Patrialis Akbar of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said that "the arrogance" of some government offices have hampered coordination among themselves.

He said that police officers often faced resistance from the immigration office when they needed to conduct investigations.

Amris added that the House's security commission wanted to know exactly how the National Police carried out its duties.

"There are several bombings, but the National Police cannot find the perpetrators. How can this happen?" Amris asked.

Just as National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar met their invitation to brief them on Wednesday, the blast occurred.

He added that the legislators would also ask if there had been enough coordination between the National Police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Head of BIN Hendropriyono has blamed "weak antiterror laws" for the repeated explosions in public places which have led to scores of victims over the years.