Shah Alam, Jakarta - angry whispers sweep cities

In Shah Alam
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A 30-year old was mysteriously found dead on a five-storey flat roof of a building where he was being questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. He fell from the 14th floor.
Was Teo Beng Hock pushed, or did he jump?
Why should he jump on the day he was about to register his marriage?
Why should anyone want to push him?
Or maybe there was an accident?
Why was MACC so keen to keep him until 3.45am as if the nation is in danger if he was allowed to go home, and questioning continued the next day?
And why wasn't MACC busy with questioning the buyer of a claimed RM3.5 mil mansion called Istana Khir, that even Dr Mahathir Mohamad said would be worth more than what was claimed?
(I didn't ask any of these questions - you can read them all over Malaysia blogosphere).

My question is this: Just after Manek Urai, the world of Umno was all jumping with joy that we now have the rakyat behind us.
Ever heard of making one step forward and then two backwards?
If the government is not seen to come clean and fair on this MACC issue, it is back to square one as far as the public is concerned - forget the liberalisation moves, taxi fare hikes and homes for the poor.
The educated chattering classes want to know how the government will handle this mess.
Unspoken but even more dangerous is this perception: 'Polis Melayu bunuh remaja India yang ditahan, MACC Melayu bunuh Cina dalam tahanan'.
I am worried by this unspoken perception.



In Jakarta
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NEW 9.45pm SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA TIME

Apparently, there were two suicide bombers - one in hotel lobby of the Marriott and the other in a Ritz-Carlton restaurant. This is the work of madmen.

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EARLIER 8.45pm

The rumour mill is in overdrive after three, not just two, bombs exploded.
One at Ritz-Carlton.
One at J.W. Marriott.
And one in north Jakarta involving a car bomb (*THIS turned out to be a mere rumour).
Nine died, more than 40 were injured.

In the past people would right away say 'JI'.
Not today.
High explosives were used, not the standard JI bomb made crudely from fertilisers, chemicals and what not.
Some of the bombers spent the night in a room in the Marriott, a laptop and other equipment found in a room showed!

Not only that, visitors to Jakarta know too well that the more popular the hotels and malls among Westerners and rich locals, the stricter the security checks.
Guards scan under your car, open the boot, open all the car doors to peek inside, and then there are metal detectors before you step into the hotel or mall.
So how did the bombers get inside with their explosives???
And then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had this to say, which ratcheted up the political temperatures even higher:

"Hari ini adalah titik hitam dari negara kita, terjadi lagi serangan pemboman yang dilakukan kaum teroris di Jakarta. Aksi teror ini diperkirakan dilakukan kelompok teroris, meski belum tentu jaringan teroris yang kita kenal ini terjadi di Indonesia yang menimbulkan kesulitan di seluruh rakyat Indonesia."


Indonesia has its legislative elections on April 8 (President Yudhoyono's Partai Demokrat won big), and the presidential elections just last week on July 8 - he won a second term, by exit poll numbers!
Official results will be out only on July 25.

Now let me quote the whole thing in English (as received from an email from my colleague in Jakarta).
The last para is the killer one that has set the whole country into question-mode and big worries.
I cannot go into other details here, but the whispers out there in Jakarta are like wow.


"Today marks a bleak day in our history. Once again there was terrorist attack in Jakarta. This terror act was carried out by a terrorist group, although this one doesn't necessarily mean the one that belong to the network that we have already known all these years."

"I'm instructing the law enforement institutions to bring to court anyone involved, whatever their status is, whatever their motive is - be it political or other motive."

"There is a terror group who have been training to shoot with targets being a photo of me."

"We have a video showing two people shooting at my photo. I received this intelligence info a while ago."

"With regards to this intelligence info, we know there were plans for violence and anarchy related to the election results. There were plans to take over the election commission's (KPU's) headquarters building when they announce election results (on July 25). There were statements encouraging a revolution if SBY wins the election. There were statements to call for a sabotage on SBY's inauguration."