Jakarta, IO – The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has designated Kebonpedes village in Sukabumi, West Java, as a model village.
BNPT enforcement director Brig. Gen. Mochaman Rosidi said the village is one of five in Indonesia used to showcase the country’s success in preventing intolerance, radicalism and terrorism, per detikcom, Fri (22/12).
Rosidi explained that Kebonpedes used to be categorized as high risk. The National Police’s anti-terror squad Densus 88 even noted that of the around 142 terrorist suspects arrested, several of them come from this village.
“In choosing the model villages, we based our assessment on the index on the potential for radicalism from research conducted by the BNPT prevention directorate,” said Rosidi. “We believe that Kebonpedes has a fairly high level of success in countering the threat of intolerance, radicalism and terrorism.”
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In addition to West Java, the program is also conducted in villages in Lampung, Banten and East Java. He hopes this measure can increase awareness among members of the communities so they can be more vigilant toward their surroundings.
“One of the efforts is to educate the villagers to use the social media wisely so they can evaluate the information before sharing it,” said Rosidi. “The hope is that residents will increasingly understand the characteristics of people who hold radical views.” (un)