The school’s sign has been taken down, replaced by a blue board which states: “No trespassing. Private property”.
Prof Ramakrishna said the boarding school was set up by JI exiles, including the group’s founders Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir, who had settled in Malaysia after fleeing the anti-Islamist regime under Suharto’s New Order in Indonesia.
The school was once attended by Noordin Muhammad Top, the suspected mastermind of the Jakarta hotel bombings in 2009, as well as another JI militant Mukhlas who was part of the 2002 Bali bombings.
This school was modelled after JI boarding schools in Solo, Indonesia, and the Ulu Tiram community that grew up around it was regarded as fanatical and extremist, he said.
“I do not think this is a coincidence in light of recent events,” he added, highlighting the existence of a community of JI supporters in southern Johor.
Despite that, Prof Ramakrishna said Malaysian security authorities had long ago neutralised the more violent elements of the JI community that had grown up around the boarding school.
“But it seems possible that a newer generation of violent elements from this community could be slowly regenerating,” he said, noting that the probes of more than 20 known JI members in Johor show that police were already watching them.
Still, extremism expert Munira Mustaffa, founder of security consultancy Chasseur Group, cautioned against taking a single incident as representative of JI activities in the region.
“Currently, JI’s main nucleus in Indonesia remains weak due to a lack of leadership and is largely decentralised,” she told CNA.
“It is highly likely that this was an isolated incident. Until we understand his grievances, motivations for launching the attack, and objectives, we cannot say with certainty that there is a larger plot.”
Ms Munira said it is important to note that the suspect’s connection to JI has so far only been established through his father.
“The police are rounding up individuals with suspected links. Whether or not they are actual members remains to be seen,” she added.
“I am cautious about any allegations of an active JI cell in Johor until we know with certainty that this is the case.”
Similarly, RSIS’ Prof Ramakrishna emphasised that further investigations are needed to uncover just how far a possible resurgence of violent militancy has spread among the community “affiliated with the old Luqmanul Hakiem pesantren”.
“RUDIMENTARY” ATTACK
Prof Ramakrishna pointed out that the way the attack unfolded seemed to be “very rudimentary”, involving what appeared to be a lone actor who wanted to steal a firearm from the police.
Assistant Professor Ahmad El-Muhammady, an associate fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), said the suspect could have been inspired by similar terror attacks on police stations in Indonesia.
For instance, in December 2022, a man blew himself up at a police station in Bandung, killing an officer and wounding 10 others. The attacker was affiliated with Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a supporter of the Islamic State terror group.
The suspect could also be triggered by the external events such as the war on Gaza and a sense of injustice around Palestinian issues, Asst Prof Ahmad said.
“A former member of JI used to tell me: You can kill the organisation, but you can’t kill the ideology. The continuity of ideology remains in some members and is possibly being propagated discreetly,” he noted.
