Jakarta – The Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), a Muslim militant Muslim group which allegedly has links to al-Qaeda, threatened on Friday to launch "sweeps" against foreign nationals working illegally in major Indonesian cities, DPA news agency reported.
Chairman of the MMI militant group Fauzan al-Anshari said in a letter sent to the Minister of Justice and Human Rights that the planned crackdown was in retaliation for tough immigration measures imposed by neighboring Malaysia against illegal workers there, mostly from Indonesia.
MMI is a Central Java-based fundamentalist movement whose leaders, such as Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, have allegedly been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network by Singaporean, Malaysian and Philippines intelligence agencies. The group allegedly strives to establish a pan-Islamic State in parts of Southeast Asia.
The group also called on the Indonesian government to impose tough measures on foreign workers in Indonesia, which boasts the world's largest Muslim population.
"Laskar Mujahidin [Majahidin Militia], along with other Islamic organizations will soon launch a sweep against foreign workers in Indonesia, especially in major cities across the country, in order to help impose immigration and labor regulations," al-Anshari said in his letter.
The letter named cities such as the North Sumatra's provincial capital of Medan, Palembang in South Sumatra, Surabaya in East Java, Solo in Central Java, Yogyakarta, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Jakarta for its crackdown on foreigners.
It said the sweep was aimed at collecting data on whether the foreigners had official work permits and valid visas, as well as finding foreign workers occupying professions that could be held by Indonesians."If foreign nationalities are found violating the immigration regulations during the sweep, we will bring them instantly to the local immigration office to be processed in line with the existing laws," the letter said.
However, it did not mention when the street sweeps against foreigners in Indonesia would be launched. The group urged immigration authorities to be prepared to coordinate the crackdown.
At the peak of anti-US sentiments in September, last year, members of the Laskar Jihad (Holy Warriors) – another Muslim militant group in Indonesia – launched the country's first "sweep" in Solo. They searched local hotels for US nationals whom they threatened to expel from the country.
However, the Solo sweep sparked spark criticism from Indonesia's tourism industry and various community leaders, as the much-publicized antic prompted thousands of Westerners to cancel trips to the country.