The government has heightened security around the country after a senior minister was attacked with a knife in broad daylight in Pandeglang, Banten, on Thursday.

In a rare assault against a high-ranking official, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto was allegedly stabbed by SA, also known as Abu Rara, a man with suspected links to an extremist network.

He reportedly attacked the chief security minister as the latter was getting out of his car to attend the inauguration of a university building in Sindanghayu village, Saketi subdistrict.

Abu Rara was there with his wife, FA, who has also been named a suspect. They were among the crowd that greeted Wiranto in front of the university building.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed security authorities to take stern action and hunt down the “terrorist network” behind the attack.

Jokowi visited Wiranto at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD) in Central Jakarta, where the minister was being treated for two abdominal stab wounds sustained in the assault.

The President said he had ordered National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Budi Gunawan to coordinate with the Indonesian Military (TNI) to “investigate and take stern measures against the perpetrator and the network behind the incident".

“Pak Wiranto is now conscious but in surgery,” Jokowi said at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. “Now, the most important thing is for [authorities] to hunt down the [terrorist] network.”

While the country has experienced frequent bomb and knife attacks by extremists in crowded areas, churches and police stations, high-ranking officials have rarely been their target — or that of any assailant with a personal or political motive.

Aside from the murder of high-ranking Army generals in 1965 and the shooting of former Supreme Court justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita in 2001, attacks and attempted murders of government officials are rare.

The police previously revealed, however, that four state officials, including Wiranto and Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, were reportedly targeted for assassination during the postelection riots in May.

Six people were arrested on suspicion of plotting the murders. They were found to be in possession of illegal firearms, including rifles, that police believed were to be used in the assassinations.

National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said Abu Rara had been exposed to radical teachings that inspired him to attack the chief security minister.

Budi, who is also a police general, said the alleged perpetrator was affiliated with homegrown militant group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which is linked to the Islamic State (IS) group. He also said the officials had been monitoring his activities in the past three months.

He said Abu Rara had initially been a member of the JAD cell in Kediri, East Java, and authorities had tracked his move to Bogor, West Java, and later to Menes in Pandeglang to remarry after he divorced his first wife.

The suspect had reportedly been under BIN’s watch as he was believed to be hoarding bladed weapons, such as knives.

When asked how the attack could still have happened despite the monitoring, Budi said that JAD worked in cells comprising lone wolves and small groups.

“There are so many cells, so we also call on the public to help us monitor these cells,” he said after visiting Wiranto.

In his statement, Jokowi also called on the public to stand together to fight against terrorism and radicalism.

“Only through a joint effort can we drive them from our beloved nation,” he said.

Lawmakers have condemned the attack, which occurred a week before Jokowi is slated to be inaugurated on Oct. 20.

"The police, therefore, should immediately settle the case to avoid speculation and anxiety from the public," said People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo.

The Golkar Party politician further assured that the situation, in general, was under control, thanks to the joint efforts of the National Police and the TNI in safeguarding the country.

House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani, however, reminded the public to refrain from forming baseless assumptions from the incident and to entrust the case to the proper authorities.

"This was definitely a crime. [The police] must work fast in discovering the perpetrators, whether he worked alone or within a terrorist network," said Puan, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician.

Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict director Sidney Jones said the attackers were likely affiliated to the global terrorist network that saw all officials as legitimate targets of attack.

She further revealed that IS supporters had an increasing interest in exploiting political dynamics, citing the foiled terror plot in May.

"Trying to assassinate a senior official is a major escalation in terrorist aspirations," Jones said.

Political and military analyst Salim Said said the authorities might act more aggressively toward radical extremists after Thursday's incident.

He added that the police had already warned Wiranto over the large possibility of him being a target of several physical threats.

“This implies that the police already have information on the radical groups' activities. They might take more aggressive measures to get rid of the radical groups, seeing that they already possess information of their movements,” Salim said.

“It is also important to note that the President might perceive the attack on the minister as something that humiliates the government, so they will take a sterner approach against these radical groups."

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