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| Southeast Asia |
| The elusive Azahari |
| 2004-09-12 |
| Dr Azahari Hussin, the fugitive Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb-maker, is so elusive that he has managed to give the Indonesian police the slip despite the massive hunt to track him after three major bombings for which he has been named the mastermind. This is because he knows Central Java, particularly Jakarta, like the back of his hand, a source told Sunday Mail. Azahari has been a frequent visitor to Indonesia, even before he was pursued by the Malaysian police in 2001 and Indonesian police for the Bali, Jakarta J.W. Marriott hotel and the Jakarta Australian Embassy bombings. Initially, his visits to Jakarta in the early '90s began as harmlessly as a respectable person attending lectures and seminars. He was one of the participants at a Valuers Congress in Jakarta in mid October 1994. Azahari who hails from Malacca, is an expert in Property Management and Valuation theory and highly respected among people in his field. In December 1993, Indonesia's Ministry of Commerce and Education endorsed him as an expert and recognised his talents. He was also a former professor of statistics who studied in England and Australia. Interviews and intelligence dossiers on the former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer states that Azahari was charmed by the Jakarta city life. In 1996, he migrated to Jakarta with his wife and worked as a consultant with a property management firm there. A source said Azahari and his wife, known only as Nur Aini, lived in a rented house in Kemang in Jakarta. The childless couple stayed there for slightly more than a year. The dossiers also revealed he had taught for six months at University Gadjah Mada in Jogjakarta as a visiting professor. "Azahari was on loan to the university's faculty of economy and taught property management there," said another source. He held classes mostly on Saturday evenings. An Indonesian professor who was Azahari's colleague said he was a dedicated teacher. "He was a very intelligent person and very up-to-date and well-versed with the current issues. I was impressed with his general knowledge and ability to participate in discussions and to draw up plans for projects at the university." He said they used to sit down for hours to discuss matters pertaining to their project papers but never spoke on religious matters. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Why not check out the attendees of Property Management and Valuation seminars. One can never escape the allure of a first love. |
| Posted by: B 2004-09-12 3:34:55 AM |