(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): The Malaysian police should join the foreign investigators in Indonesia probing the Bali bomb blasts especially after the Jakarta Post report that a Malaysian was the deputy leader of the group of seven “foreigners” which masterminded the world’s worst terrorist incident after the September 11 attacks in the United States at Kuta Beach, Bali last Saturday.
The
Indonesian English daily quoted a top-level
intelligence source as saying that the terrorist cell believed to be responsible
for the deadly explosion in
Bali which
killed some 200 people and injured another 300 was led by a Yemeni and his
Malaysian deputy.
The nationalities of the other five are unknown but a second source said one was
a European and two had links to a series of bombings in the Philippines.
If it is true that a Malaysian was the deputy leader of the terrorist cell which was responsible for the heinous Bali carnage, then Malaysia would not suffer mere collateral damage as a South East Asian country with the region gaining notoriety as a haven for terrorist activities (with two bomb explosions downtown in Zamboanga, southern Philippines at midday claiming innocent lives and causing scores of injured), but direct and immeasurable damage as a country whose citizens, however a handful, are associated with heinous and dastardly terrorist crimes against humanity.
This is going to have enormous adverse repercussions for Malaysia’s economic and tourist prospects, especially as Malaysia had remained high on the international radar associated with international terrorism after the September 11 terrorist attacks – resulting in Malaysia, together with Indonesia, being recently placed in three United States Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) blacklists causing great hassle, inconvenience, hardship and indignity to Malaysians studying, working or visiting the United States.
As Indonesia is being assisted in the Bali terrorist attacks by investigators and intelligence officers from Australia, Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States, the Malaysian police should join in the investigations in Indonesia, especially with the latest intelligence reported by Jakarta Post that a Malaysian was a deputy leader of the terrorist squad responsible for the heinous Bali blasts.
(17/10/2002)
*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman