Sutiyoso to sanctions ignorant heads
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In the wake of the bomb explosion in Pamulang, Tangerang, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso told all subdistrict heads, community unit and neighborhood unit heads in his jurisdiction to keep a watchful eye in order to avert similar terror acts from occurring in their areas.
"Should any terrorist attack happen in their areas and they claim to have no knowledge about it, I will take action against them for failing to properly respond to my call, including recommending their dismissal," Sutiyoso said on Wednesday.
The bomb blast in the front yard of the home of Islamic preacher Abu Jibril early on Wednesday sent a wake-up call to city residents that terrorist attacks are still a threat in the capital.
It was the first blast after the attack on the Australian Embassy on Sept. 9, 2004, which claimed 11 lives. The blast occurred less than two weeks after a stronger explosion ripped through the Tentena market in Central Sulawesi, which killed 21 people and injured some 70 others on May 28.
Learning from a string of bomb attacks in the capital in the last five years, the administration has repeatedly warned the neighborhood unit heads to help monitor rented homes, which are often used as safe houses for terror suspects to plan and prepare the attacks.
Sutiyoso also called on the residents to help police in monitoring the activities of locals or newcomers they suspect may be involved in terrorist acts in their respective areas.
"That is the simplest thing the residents can do to prevent a similar bomb attack from taking place in the city," he asserted.
"Security personnel at malls, hotels and public places are also advised not to slacken precautionary measures such as checking incoming vehicles or searching visitors for explosives," he added.
Sutiyoso encouraged the residents not to hesitate in lodging complaints to the managements if security personnel do not apply the standard security measures.
"The complaints will help push the security personnel to be vigilant," he asserted.
The police have been on top alert with the full force being deployed to secure the capital during past two weeks, after claiming that they had detected increasing activities of terror suspects in the capital.
They attributed the activities to terror suspects Malaysian fugitives Azahari Husin and Noordin M. Top along with new recruits could launch a bomb attack at any time in Jakarta.
Both Azahari and Noordin are believed to have masterminded a spate of bombings in the country in the past five years.
Police have also made a special call to hotel managements to boost their security efforts after the U.S. Embassy called on its citizens last week to stay away from the lobbies of hotels frequented by Westerners in Jakarta over fears of an imminent bomb attack.
The Jakarta Post observed on Wednesday that policemen forced vans and trucks on streets to pull over and checked them for explosives, as seen on Jl. Pemuda, Jl. Pramuka and Jl. Kebon Sirih.