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BNPT investigates IS recruitment of migrant workers
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New task – National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian (left) shakes hands with Jakarta Police general crimes head Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti after his inauguration at the State Palace in Jakarta on March 16. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) is investigating widespread information of a “significant increase” in the number of Indonesian citizens working in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan who have become supporters of the Islamic State (IS) terror group.
“Until today, we do not yet have accurate information about it. We are still investigating it,” BNPT head Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian said as quoted by Antara news agency in Beijing on Wednesday evening, local time.
News reports earlier revealed that IS was approaching Indonesian workers in Hong Kong to join the extremist group. A domestic worker from Indonesia told local newspaper Oriental Daily News that many workers from Indonesia had received leaflets about IS recruitment.
Asia One reported on Tuesday that in the leaflets IS claimed the Indonesians would be employed in Xinjiang, China. It was not clear what kind of jobs the group would offer, however.
The head of an Indonesian migrant workers' association in Hong Kong, who wanted to remain anonymous, said such recruitment had been conducted for two years. Previously, there were only one or two people distributing IS leaflets. As the number of IS supporters has continued to grow, however, the leaflets are almost routinely distributed at gatherings of migrant workers in Hong Kong.
The association head further said that groups supported by IS, in which the members were mostly domestic helpers, were quite different to other groups. They appeared to be solitary and secretive.
Joan Tsui, an official from an umbrella organization of foreign workers in Hong Kong, expressed her concerns about IS recruitment occurring among migrant workers.
“I’m worried about those migrant domestic helpers, who might be emotionally influenced if they join with [IS related] groups,” said Tsui.
“They could become temperamental and this could be dangerous for children they look after,” she went on.
Separately, the head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Nusron Wahid, said several countries were prone to the recruitment of Indonesian workers as IS followers.
“They are South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong,” said Nusron. He further said the BNP2TKI would send several ulema from Indonesia to migrant worker destination countries to help protect them from IS influences.
Meanwhile, China’s Public Order Minister Meng Hongwei said around 300 Chinese citizens, mostly from the Muslim minority ethnic Uighur group, had joined with IS.
“The most interesting thing is, those Chinese ‘IS volunteers’ departed to Syria via Malaysia. They used Malaysia as a transit point,” said Meng.
