The Indonesian authorities will soon be able to hold suspects involved in plans to mount a terror attack for up to six months, once a preventive detention law is passed as early as April. This would be the first time since the fall of former president Suharto in 1998 that Indonesia will see such a law enacted.

The legislation is part of sweeping changes to the country’s anti- terror Bill, being proposed in the wake of the Jan 14 attack in Jakarta.

Revisions to the law will also finally make it an offence for citizens to join a militant group overseas – such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – as well as better define what constitutes an act of terrorism.

… Dr Damien Cheong from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) said the new Bill is unlikely to encounter resistance from lawmakers. “Most will endorse the amendments – subject to the inclusion of appropriate checks and balances – to support the Widodo government’s move to beef up legislation to fight terror.”