T

he public needs to apply local wisdom and social sensitivity to help prevent acts of terrorism and restrict the activities of terror groups in regions across Indonesia, an officer at the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has said.

'€œCurrently, the sense of care and awareness among people has faded. For example, many people may not even suspect that their neighbors are terrorists until an incident takes place. This is due to the overall reduced sense of community,'€ BNPT enforcement deputy Insp. Gen. Arif Darmawan said in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) recently.

Those attending the meeting included former Jamaah Islamiyah radical group member Abdul R. Ayub and NTB Counterterrorism Coordinating Forum (FKPT) head Lalu Mujitahid.

Arif said that social sensitivity and care among residents were regarded as extremely effective in detecting terror at an early stage. Residents, he continued, could simply report to the neighborhood chief to register a new resident staying in the neighborhood.

According to BNPT Prevention Affairs deputy Maj. Gen. Agus Surya Bakti, BNPT has set up FKPT offices in 21 provinces, including NTB, to further promote care and awareness among every element of society to help anticipate terrorism in their regions.

The forum is made up of community, traditional, religious and youth leaders, as well as academics and the media.

'€œAs part of prevention efforts, BNPT cannot work alone, so these forums will help with preventive measures in different regions because leaders of specific areas are the ones who have the best knowledge about their community. Every community must be involved in preventing terrorism,'€ Agus said.

He explained that the precautionary approach carried out by BNPT and FKPT in the regions focused on two strategies '€” contra radicalization programs and education on terrorism for the general public who have not been exposed to terrorist teachings, and de-radicalization programs for those who have received radical teachings from the terror groups.

NTB FKPT head Lalu Mujitahid said in NTB, the local wisdom of awiq-awiq, or customary rules, could be used to anticipate terrorism.

Awiq-awiq are local customary rules that dictate a community'€™s way of life and social standards. The rules, Mujitahid said, could strengthen the sense of solidarity within a particular community and could also serve as a shield to
prevent terrorists from infiltrating.

'€œThrough awiq-awiq members of a community tend to know each other better, so the presence of an outsider can immediately be more easily detected. In the past, it was very effective in preventing theft, now it can be just as useful in preventing terrorism,'€ said Mujitahid.

Meanwhile, Arif said that the patterns and actions of terrorists had changed a lot, including how they recruit, launch attacks and identify targets. '€œBefore, they targeted Western symbols of power and influence while now they have shifted to the state. The most targeted are the police because they consider the police as an obstacle for their actions,'€ said Agus.

They, he went on, no longer use massive explosions and intended for huge targets, but have shifted to launching minor blasts by using home-made bombs and carrying out shootings against the police.

'€œTheir recruitment system has also changed. They can recruit new members through the Internet. A terror suspect claimed he was recruited through his Facebook account, where he was exposed to fundamentalist teachings and taught how to assemble bombs before launching attacks,'€ said Agus.

'€œPreviously, they carried out physical attacks, but now they also brainwash recruits by spreading hatred,'€ said Agus.