Quiet courier helps open Azahari discovery
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post/Malang
The 88-square-meter house has a cramped look about it as though it is wedged between its neighboring homes.
Located 100 meters from Jl. Jodipan Wetan, the small descending lane to the rundown house is just wide enough for two motorcycles to pass. The house, which faces the south, is typical of others in Jodipan subdistrict, Blimbing here: There is a three-by-four-meter bedroom in the front, and next to that a living room. Out back, two other rooms are hidden from guests by a curtain.
The damp front room is only furnished with a single bed, an old cupboard and a small table with a speaker on top of it. A tape deck and another speaker is placed on top of the bed, over it a marble shelf displaying a photograph and other mementos.
This is where Muhammad Cholil, alias Yahya, 29, spent his childhood.
The fourth of five children of Munakip (deceased) and Sopiah, 55, who now lives in the house, Cholil was arrested on Wednesday in Semarang by the police's antiterror unit Detachment 88 for his alleged links to the terror network led by Azahari bin Husin.
The arrest of Cholil led to the raid on Azahari's hideout in Malang, in which Azahari was killed.
The role of Cholil in the network is still unclear but sources say he was Azahari's courier.
"Cholil is a quiet person. He is not a man of many words but had friends in the village. He is a good person and has never been in trouble. I had the opportunity to ask him to mend the roof during Idul Fitri," said Imron Rosadi, 31, Cholil's childhood friend.
A close friend of Cholil's from his university days, Hasyim Ashari, 27, was astounded when he read about his friend's arrest in the newspaper.
The last time he saw Cholil was in the early days of the fasting month of Ramadhan. Cholil said that he had set up a kiosk selling cellular phones in Kepanjen, South Malang.
Cholil exhibited no unusual behavior at university and seemed to have a grounded outlook on life.
"He is very good at keeping secrets, because he has never once talked about terrorism with me. Usually, between close friends, ideas are exchanged. He's not like that. He can keep it all to himself," said Hasyim.
When Sophia first learned from the police of her son's detention in Semarang she appeared to be in a state of shock.
"Mother is still trying to convince herself that what the police and reporters said is untrue. I too find it difficult to believe that my best friend is involved in the terror network," said Hasyim, who is acting as a spokesman for Cholil's family.
Sophia, who sells clothes at the Malang market, said the last time she saw Cholil was at Idul Fitri. He had prayed with his younger brother Achmad Amin and visited relatives around Malang, East Java.
According to Sophia, Cholil had not acted strangely during the holiday. She remains convinced that her son is not a terrorist.