Jakarta – Lawmakers vowed to expedite the passage of legislation to improve counterterrorism measures following the recent suicide bomb attack in Surakarta, Central Java, the hometown of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
The attack was carried out in the front yard of a police station on Tuesday morning last week, the eve of Idul Fitri, killing the suicide bomber and injuring a police officer.
The suicide bomber, Nur Rohman, a Surakarta resident, is alleged to have been a member of a homegrown Islamic State (IS) cell led by Arief Hidayatullah, alias Abu Musab.
"The act of terrorism that occurred recently has triggered the House to revise the terrorism law as a matter of urgency," House Speaker Ade Komarudin said, adding that lawmakers plan to hold a meeting to discuss the matter after the Idul Fitri holiday.
The government should focus on prevention, said Ade, a Golkar Party politician, adding that it would be done by offering early childhood education in moderate Islam. "There is lot of misunderstanding in religious teachings, such as teaching people to be brave to die, which is completely wrong," he said.
Initiated by the government following the bomb attack near the Sarinah shopping center in Jakarta earlier this year, the legislation is designed chiefly to expand the role of the National Police, granting police the authority to investigate radical groups and terrorism suspects prior to any potential attack.
The House have established a special committee to debate the role that the military and various intelligence agencies are to play in the fight against terrorism. Gerindra Party politician Muhammad Syafi'i, the committee's leader, said that while recognizing terrorism as a serious threat, lawmakers have promised to ensure that further increasing the role of security officers would not violate civilian rights.
"We have to make sure that the law upholds human rights," Syafi'i said to The Jakarta Post in a text message.
The committee is currently discussing the stigma that has been attached to Islam, as most of the groups that plan bomb attacks in the country are radical Islamic groups.
Other important points under consideration, he said, relate to human rights, including the detention period of a terrorism suspect. The current detention period is considered to be too long.
As has been reported, the government proposed in the draft bill that police would be able to detain an alleged terrorist for up to 510 days after arrest, almost three times longer than the 180 days stipulated in the current law.
Three deadly terror attacks occurred in the last days of the holy month of Ramadhan in Istanbul, Dhaka and Baghdad, claiming hundreds of civilian lives. The IS claimed responsibility for the Dhaka and Baghdad attacks.
President Jokowi condemned the acts, reminding people to stay calm but remain vigilant. (win)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/11/all-eyes-terrorism-law-revision.html