Defining their country as part of Australasia led to serious policy errors that can now only be corrected by closer ties to Asian neighbours with similar concerns.
In downtown Jakarta bookstores, it is possible to pick up a slim volume entitled ‘Saya Teroris? Sebuah Pleidoi’ by Fauzan al-Anshari for little more than a dollar. It gives an account of the life, times and beliefs of self-styled Sheikh Abu Bakar Baasyir, identified as the spiritual guru of the Jemaah Islamiyah network allegedly behind the bombing of the Kuta Beach resort.
