The attack on Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto indicates that terrorist attacks are now targeting public officials. The protection of public officials needs urgent evaluation.
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ANTARA FOTO/HANDOUT
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto (second left) get out of the car before being attacked by a man armed with a bladed weapon during his visit to Pandeglang, Banten, Thursday (10/10/2019).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The attack Thursday (10 October 2019) on Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto in Pandeglang regency, Banten, indicates that public officials now risk being targeted in terrorist attacks. The protection of public officials must be evaluated, particularly because in nine days on 20 Oct., the 2019-2024 President and Vice President of Indonesia are to be inaugurated.
The security evaluation is also necessary because indications of a possible attack targeting Wiranto had emerged in May. At the time, Wiranto as well as Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Budi Gunawan and former Antiterrorist Special Detachment 88 head Comr. Gen. Gregorius Mere were among those targeted for assassination in the 21-22 May Jakarta riots.
In addition, the BIN had been tracking the movements of SA aka Abu Rara, the alleged perpetrator who stabbed Wiranto, for the past three months. SA and his wife, FA, are alleged members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) terrorist group, which is affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
President Joko Widodo also stressed the necessity to evaluate the security detail for public officials. “I have ordered the National Police chief to provide better protection,” the President said yesterday, after visiting Wiranto at Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital (RSPAD).
KOMPAS/PRADIPTA PANDU
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto
Wiranto was attacked at around 11:50 a.m. on Thursday after he had disembarked from his car at the Menes district town square in Pandeglang regency. Wiranto was in Menes to attend the inauguration of a new lecture hall and to sign a plaque at Mathla’ul Anwar University (Unma).
Menes District Police chief Comr. Darijanto and another local police officer, Fuad, also sustained stab wounds while capturing SA.
After visiting Wiranto, Vice President Jusuf Kalla also said that protective measures should be evaluated promptly, especially for public officials. Furthermore, radical groups were still active. Kalla said that Detachment 88 and BIN always issued warnings on possible threats targeting public officials.
Separately, Presidential Security commandant Maj. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak said that his personnel always provided high security measures, including for the President and the Vice President’s regional tours. “We are always alert. Hopefully, nothing [no incident] will happen,” said Maruli.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said that the police would evaluate its security arrangements.
ANTARA FOTO/GALIH PRADIPTA
Vice President Jusuf Kalla (wearing cap) arrives at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD), Jakarta, to visit Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto on Thursday (10/10/2019). Wiranto was treated and operated by doctors of the hospital after being stabbed, allgedly by Syahrial Alamsyah, in Menes Square, Menes district, Pandeglang regency, Banten.
The stabbing of Wiranto, added Dedi, would not disrupt the inauguration of Joko Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin as president and vice president on 20 Oct.
Surveillance
Dedi explained that SA and FA were not residents of Menes. SA came from Medan, North Sumatra, while his wife FA was originally from Brebes, Central Java.
BIN head Budi Gunawan said the agency had placed SA under surveillance three months ago. “The alleged perpetrator moved from Kediri to Bogor and then from Bogor to Menes because he divorced his first wife. He remarried in Menes,” he added.
Budi noted that SA had also been observed procuring bladed weapons several times, especially knives. “He had not yet progressed to making bomb. His mode of attack was still restricted to sharp weapons,” he said.
According to Budi, SA had been linked to the five alleged terrorists who were planning bomb attacks, and who the police apprehended in Bekasi, West Java.
ANTARA FOTO/SEPTIANDA PERDANA
Police inspect the house of relatives of Syahrial Alamsyah, who allegedly stabbed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, on Jalan Alfakah V in Tanjung Mulia Hilir village, Medan Deli, Medan city, North Sumatra, Thursday (10/10/2019). Syahrial Alamsyah, 51, is suspected of attacking Wiranto on a work visit at Menes Square in Purwaraja village, Pandeglang regency, Banten, earlier in the day.
According to Kompas’ reports, the police detained five alleged terrorists in Bekasi in early May. The five were reportedly connected to the JAD network and had allegedly planned to carry out terror attacks on policemen during the 2019 general election.
Budi said that BIN had detected the likelihood that the JAD group would attempt an attack ahead of the presidential inauguration on 20 Oct.
Antiterrorism expert Al Chaidar said that a cell of the JAD network was based in Pandeglang, but the cell’s members came from other places.
Chaidar said that the JAD preferred to select its targets, and only attacked public officials and figures.
Exposure
After yesterday’s arrest of SA, the police traveled to Tanjung Mulia Hilir subdistrict in Medan Deli of Medan, North Sumatra, to seek information from SA’s family and friends.
Alex, a resident of Tanjung Mulia Hilir, said that he knew SA from Medan. SA was exposed to radicalism around 2010, when he suddenly prohibited his two children from going to school. SA also refused to participate in the elections and expressed hatred for public officials and the police.
ANTARA FOTO/OKY LUKMANSYAH
Residents surround the house of Fitria Diana, the wife of Syahrial Alamsyah, who stands accused of stabbing Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto on Thursday (10/10/2019). Police tape seals off the property located in Sitanggal village, Brebes, Central Java.
SA owned a house in Medan Deli, where he lived for some time. SA and his third wife then left the area, and Alex had heard nothing more from him.
Meanwhile, Rahayu, a relative of FA in Sitanggal village of Larangan district in Brebes, Central Java, said that FA had cut off all communication with her family over the last three months by blocking their phone numbers.
Rahayu said that FA had been in Jakarta for two years and initially worked as a domestic helper, but quit her job in June.
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