Wake up call from Cimanggis

On Sunday, March 21, reports about a U.S. warning of a possible terror attack in Indonesia was launched by a number of local papers in this country. On that very day, Jakarta was rocked by a blast that occurred at a house in Cimanggis, Depok.

It is unclear that the warning from Washington had any connection to the Cimanggis explosion. If it was, though, a simple conclusion could be drawn that Washington has sharper eyes and ears than the Jakarta Police.

Police failed to detect early signs sent out by a group of people whose observable activities consisted mainly of arranging prayers and making bombs.

Only after questioning the suspects did the police know that training in assembling bombs had been going on for at least six months.

So far, police have questioned 26 people, 10 of whom have been declared suspects. Eight others are still at large.

The police have yet to establish the motives of the suspects, who are said to be members of a secretive Islamic group. The suspects merely told the officers that they were assembling the bombs to defend themselves from possible attacks by musyrik, or polytheist, people. The police apparently did not dig deeper into the question as to who the suspects meant by this.

However, one piece of evidence the police did collect from the explosion site was a letter written by one of the suspects and addressed to his relatives, asking them not to visit polling stations or shopping malls. None but the suspects can explain precisely the significance of this request.

Until now, no legal clue has been discovered linking the suspects' activities to the upcoming election.

But it is interesting to hear Governor Sutiyoso's statement that the capital was the real target of the planned bombing. Sutiyoso called the Cimanggis blast a warning that terrorists were still around.

However, whatever the motive behind the planned bombing, we must acknowledge the fact that neither the police nor Cimanggis residents in the vicinity of the bomb-makers' house had failed to detect anything suspicious until the blast on March 21.

The local police post also failed to sniff out the group's activities.

As usual, denials from officers in charge did not go missing in action. The most curious statement was made by National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, who claimed that police intelligence had detected the activities at the Cimanggis house some time ago, but the officers lacked an "entry point" to take action against the group until the March 21 explosion presented an opportunity.

His statement clearly invites polemic. Had the police been waiting for an "entry point" to arise before taking action, when even the possession of explosives is against the law?

Would Da'i have made another nonsensical excuse had the group succeeded in killing people with their bombs?

The lesson to be drawn from the Cimanggis blast is that the police intelligence should improve their performance and do their utmost to guard the capital against any act of terror.

The other point to be taken into serious consideration is that the national security system -- a security and defense system that involves residents and is popularly known as the Hankamrata system -- now hangs in the balance.

It is hard to believe that families living so close to the suspects' house had paid no attention to the eccentric behavior of their neighbors. After all, the regular prayer sessions involved people from outside the area, and at least some of the women attending them were wearing black burqa robes and veils.

It is obvious that local residents failed to detect or to respond to what was happening in their area, and even the neighborhood chief said he knew nothing about the group's activities.

The residents' failure to respond to every day activities at the house was one factor that contributed to the police's failure to take action against the group.

It is thus time that the Hankamrata system is reviewed. Is it still applicable in light of current conditions, and is it able to meet contemporary demands? Immediate action must be taken to develop another system to prevent the capital from falling victim to more terror attacks.