| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Kadungga and the Malaysian Connection |
| 2002-12-12 |
| Research conducted by the International Crisis Group indicates that the activities of the Ngruki circle during their stay in Malaysia deserves special attention in terms of broadening its international network. Just how far this network has extended was evidenced by the trip by Sungkar and Baasyir to Saudi Arabia to seek funds. Hmmm... Funny. My surprise meter hasn't stirred... At the same time, they decided to strengthen the jemaah militarily by sending volunteers from Indonesia to train in Afghanistan. The international network also widened when the son-in-law of Kahar Muzakkar, a man named Abdul Wahid Kadungga, came to the surface and began to be in intensive contact with Sungkar and Baasyir. Muzakkar was an early-50s proponent on the Dar ul-Islam for Indonesia: Kahar Muzakkar had impeccable nationalist credentials. He had been one of Sukarno's bodyguards in 1945. From Java, he helped recruit guerrillas from among Sulawesi youths studying there and infiltrated them back into Sulawesi. Despite a noteworthy clash in 1947 with a young Javanese lieutenant colonel named Soeharto that led to a temporary demotion, he remained an important figure in the revolution. He was sent back to South Sulawesi in 1950 and worked to establish the authority of the young republic. For this, he expected his forces to be rewarded with positions in the newly established Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI). Instead, the army leadership, determined to demobilise as many of the militia fighters as possible, not only rejected a separate brigade led by Muzakkar but also seemed to treat the Sulawesi fighters as poor cousins to their counterparts in Java and Sumatra. As a result, Kahar Muzakkar broke with the new republic and led a rebellion that lasted until he was tracked down and shot by the military in February 1965.Kadungga remains a mysterious figure. He was based first in Germany, then in Holland, becoming a key international contact with links to a radical Egyptian group. He returned periodically to Malaysia. Either an International Man of Mystery or a hobo. Take your pick... It was Kadungga who is believed to have radicalized the Ngruki network since the mid-1990s. He was the man who met Abu Bakar Baasyir and Abdullah Sungkar on their arrival in Malaysia and arranged a place for them to stay. Helpful little fellow, ain't he? As a part of the Darul Islam network, Kadungga had fled to Europe and by 1971 was a student in Cologne, Germany. There he helped found the Muslim Youth Association of Europe (PPME, Persatuan Pemuda Muslim se-Eropa). Through that association, he became friendly with Muslim activists from the Middle East and gradually became more radical; he also developed close ties to PAS in Malaysia. Sometime in the 1980s, Kadungga moved to the Hague, and in 1989, he developed a close friendship with Usama Rushdi, or Rashid, of Gama Islami, a breakway faction of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan ul-Muslimin) â led by Sheikh Umar Abdul Rahman, later convicted in the US in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Traveled with all the right people, didn't he? Kadungga reportedly focused his activities on providing religious training to Indonesian students studying in Germany. He also traveled around Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia during this period and stayed in regular contact with Baasyir and Sungkar. His international connections raised suspicions that his political motivations went beyond establishing Islamic state to a bid for personal power. If this was so, political observers say, Kadungga would have become vulnerable to political influence from beyond the Ngruki network. Simply put, there is a strong possibility that Kadungga decided to cooperate with the Jakarta political elite close to the Suharto circle. Oho! He got turned, did he? A few comely wenches, some good scotch, the promise of a gummint job, and it was all over... Kadunggaâs appearance in a number of reports in October 2002 strengthened his mysterious image. He is described as having no fixed residence. âOccasionally heâs in the Netherlands, then heâs talking with top officials of PAS in Kelantan or Trengganu, and not long after, heâs conversing with Osama bin Laden in the depths of Afghanistan,â said one report. Yep. A hobo, but one with ambition... In 1995, by way of Kadunggaâs influence, Baasyir and Sungkar moved beyond their commitment to an Islamic state within Indonesian boundaries and took a more radical stance which promoted the return of an international Islamic caliphate. They could fight it out later over who was going to become caliph and who was going to get to be Grand Vizier... The shift in orientation took place when Baasyir and Sungkar became close to Gama Islami. Again, it was Kadungga who introduced the Ngruki leaders to Gama Islami. Uncovering the connections between Kadungga and Malaysian supporters of radical Islam appears to be an essential step toward disclosing the mastermind behind Imam Samudra, Ali Gufron and the other Bali bombers. Gema'a was folded into al-Qaeda when Ayman became Binny's second in command. Probably there's a cadre version of it left. Jemaah is likely a clone of the cadre version, then filled out with locals. When the going gets tough, it's likely designed to shrink back to the cadre version while the cannon fodder gets jugged. I'd guess there are a few Bigs who aren't as prominent as Bashir, and are as well-hidden as Hambali is. I'd also guess that Hambali would be a more important catch than Bashir. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |