Neighbours of Batam suspects in Marina Bay plot in shock, disbelief over arrests
BATAM — Last week’s arrests of six men — who allegedly plotted to attack Singapore’s Marina Bay area using rockets launched from Batam — has jolted some on the Indonesian island to confront an issue that continues to be ignored by the majority of a population pre-occupied with making ends meet.
Those who knew the suspects — one of whom was released on Saturday (Aug 6) after the police established that he had no links with the terror activities — were in shock and disbelief that these “quiet, good guys” could be radicalised and suspected of trying to hatch a sinister plan. Neighbours said they had no inkling of the group and their alleged activities. In fact, several residents did not even know of the arrests as they hardly keep abreast of news.
The local police and religious leaders have stepped up security measures, such as by patrolling the neighbourhoods more frequently and alerting residents to watch out for suspicious characters. A religious leader at a mosque which one of the suspects frequented has also begun preaching against extremist ideology.
Ustaz Nazarudin from Masjid Sirojul Huda in Batu Aji told TODAY that on Sunday — two days after news broke of the arrests — he had invited people to the mosque for a “mingling session”, as a step towards building a stronger community and getting residents to look out for one another. “Terrorism is not Islam… It’s people trying to teach something false using the name of Islam… We must protect the people with community and not let the Muslim name become bad,” he said.
Among those nabbed, factory worker Muhammad Tegar Sucianto, 19, was let go by the authorities. Mr Tegar’s friend and colleague Hadi Gusti Yanda, 20, who remains in police custody, was described by his neighbours as a “very good and prayerful” boy who “never got into trouble”.
Hadi went to Masjid Sirojul Huda regularly, a 40-year-old caretaker at the mosque said. “Hadi is a very good boy…I cannot imagine how this could have happened, especially when he lives with his parents, they would take care of him,” he added.
The caretaker, who declined to be named, noted that people in Batam come from all over Indonesia and “bring with them different cultures and ideas”. Still, “what happened to Hadi is still unbelievable”, he said. This was the first time that someone in the community had been associated with terror activities, he noted.
Over at Komplek Masyeba where 46-year-old suspect Trio Syafrido lived, his neighbours were similarly shocked that the father of two could have been radicalised. “He is very quiet and kept to himself, his wife is friendly… Trio is a good guy who goes to the mosque five times a day… His mother kept crying and refuses to believe this,” said Madam Akim, a middle-aged woman who helps out at the local provision shop and identified herself as the best friend of Trio’s mother. Several residents told TODAY that after the arrests, plainclothes police officers returned to the area on Sunday to patrol and advise them to stay in their homes at night.
Despite what had happened, the residents felt that the neighbourhood is still safe — in part due to the belief that they would not be the targets of any terror attacks. “We are not scared, Batam is safe, and it is too small… The terrorists just use it as a place to recruit more to join them… But they plan to attack elsewhere,” said 66-year-old retiree Eddy, who claims to have friends in the security forces. He acknowledged that Batam may be increasingly used as a base for terrorists because of its close proximity and connectivity to countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. With the security dragnet being tightened in cities such as Solo in Central Java, terrorists may be moving to places that are under the authorities’ radar, Mr Eddy said.
Still for many Indonesians living in Batam, ignorance is bliss. A few streets away from where Mr Tegar lives, most of the people whom TODAY spoke to were unaware of the arrests, despite the news making headlines in the domestic and international media. A woman who lived next to Trio’s house said: “I don’t know what happened and I don’t want to know.”
