Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman – Facing heavy criticism for failing to anticipate Sunday's suicide bombing in Solo, State Intelligence Agency chief Sutanto has asked the public to stop blaming the agency and judge it fairly.

Sutanto said that intelligence agencies always shoulder a large burden of blame following terror attacks, but rarely received due credit for attacks they stopped.

"Other countries might not be able to prevent even one single threat," Sutanto said. "We have [prevented] some threats, [but] missed this one. All officials have been working hard, and it should be noticed."

Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, deputy head of House Commission I overseeing defense, agreed that the State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, had achieved significant results in thwarting acts of terror.

Agus also sought to put some of the blame on law enforcement agencies, whom he said often disregarded BIN warnings. He said that BIN officials had warned authorities about the potential for conflict in Ambon, which saw a series of sectarian clashes this month that left seven dead.

"The information had been given to the authorities to prevent it, but it was ignored and the conflict broke out," he said.

"The problem is that other institutions might not be quick in responding to information from the intelligence agency," Agus said. "So don't only blame the [BIN] with its limited power."

Sunday's blast has prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to push for a speedy adoption of a long-delayed and controversial intelligence bill that would give BIN officers the power to wiretap and extensively investigate suspected terrorists.

The still-in-progress bill, however, is not likely to grant intelligence agents the power to make arrests. "So, if there's a bomb that explodes, don't blame the intelligence agents, unless we're giving them the power to arrest," Agus said.