P

olice must increase preventative measures if terrorist attacks in Indonesia are to be stopped, experts said Thursday.

Former expert advisors to the National Police, Alfons Low Mau and Sri Yunanto, of the Institute for Defense Security and Peace Studies (IDSPS), agreed that the government should have a database of chemical firms that sell materials which could be used to make bombs.

"If we had a database on chemical firms in the country and who buys from them, it would be easy for the police to trace perpetrators of bomb attacks," Alfond told a discussion held by the IDSPS and the Alliance of Independent Journalists.

"Such a database is important in efforts to prevent more bomb attacks."

He said that the same material, a black powder that can be readily bought from chemical firms, was used in all terrorist bombings in the country.

"Metal detectors are not suitable for detecting bombs made with this black powder," he said.

Alfons said preventive tactics failed to meet the rising threat of attack.

"Many people seem apathetic about reporting *strangers' in their area, such as in the case of Noordin M Top," he said.

Two almost simultaneous bombs rocked the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels on July 17, killing nine people and injuring dozens of others.

Sri said that arresting people allegedly involved in bombings after they occur is not good enough.

"Police failed to take preventive action," she said.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made a call to regional administrations to join the central government's efforts to combat terrorism.

He asked governors from the country's 33 provinces in a teleconference meeting on Thursday to push regents, mayors, district heads and their subordinates in their respective provinces to get actively involved in what he called "the joint national movement to combat terrorism".

"Prevent your province from becoming a base for terrorists, from becoming a breeding ground for terrorism," Yudhoyono said at the Presidential Palace.

"They *the terrorists* might do the bombings in Jakarta but the planning, the assembling of the bombs could be done elsewhere. You all are responsible for tackling terrorism."

Yudhoyono said these efforts should include preventive measures such as education, development and religious guidance.

He also stressed the importance of surveillance at all levels, saying this should not be the sole responsibility of intelligence and security officers.