Is Indonesia Really targeted by ISIS to Build Its Caliphate?

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The 36 Australian Attorney-General George Henry Brandis previously stated during his recent state visit to Indonesia that the archipelago state has been targeted by the Islamic State as the location where it plans to build its caliphate. According to him, Indonesia holds the largest Muslim population in the world and such status makes it targetable for the Islamic State to pursue its parochial interest.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan immediately denied such claim.

“No, that is not true,” said Luhut shortly after attending former Indonesian President Gus Dur event at the National Awakening Party regional office, Central Jakarta on Tuesday 22 December 2015.

Although such claim was hammered back by denial, it does not necessarily mean that Indonesia will lower it guards down. With Christmas and New Years Eve just around the corner, authorities in every parts of Indonesia have been quadrupled in amount as to assure the safety throughout those crucial days.

“We will surely remain on the watch out as to anticipate any unwanted threat or undertakings of terror. As I have said previously, there is a strong indication signaling likeliness of disruption throughout those period,” Luhut explained.

He further explained that the government sought to continually update the general population with the latest information and progresses of the terror threats and it’s the rate of imminence to that potentiality. Evaluation upon those potentialities would also be carried out in making extra sure that every individual is prepared for whatever those days present to them.

“We will continue to give the latest update. I suppose we will also evaluate it from time to time,” he concluded.

His statement does not only deny what Australian Attorney-General George Brandis said but also what has been speculated by Indonesian Police Chief Badrodin Haiti.

“Yes, we did receive a threat in the past view weeks, it is possible that Indonesia is targeted as the place where Islamic State would build its caliphate,” Badrodin spoke to Liputan6.com on Tuesday 22 December 2015.

According to Badrodin however, such threat is no longer uncommon to Indonesia as the government and the overall population are very much aware of its existence which predates decades ago.

“We have talked over it for so many times and we have examined the proper solution and law to combat and contain the extremist ideology’s widespread,” he added.

George Brandis previously stated the Islamic State ambition to “elevate its presence and level of activity in Indonesia, ether directly or through surrogates”.

“You’ve heard the expression the ‘distant caliphate’? ISIS has a declared intention to establish caliphates beyond the Middle East, provincial caliphates in effect. It has identified Indonesia as a location of its ambitions,” he informed as cited in the Guardian.

The Indonesian Anti-Terrorism Act or Special Detachment Force (Densus 88) endeavors to invigilate all areas susceptible to conduction of terror are greatly enhanced.

One of their marvelous achievements is the recently successful detainment of nine people within Java region that are believed to have been planning to orchestrate a terror attack in the coming days.

“They have been planning to terrorize the very last few weeks of this December by creating a bomb as its main instrument. While their targets vary, one that remains the dominant subject is the community that they believe does not follow the same pattern of thoughts as them, the secular pact and also the places where these people go to,” Chief of Indonesian Police Force Badrodin Haiti spoke to Liputan6.com on Sunday 20 December 2015.

Badrodin claimed that he remains unsure whether or not the bomb made was meant to be detonated during Christmas or New Year’s Eve, but he is sure that the object carries with it, massive detrimental repercussions that could result in equally massive amount of casualty.