“Some Jemaah Islamiah members really believe communism is on the rise in Indonesia when it is not true,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Banten and Tasikmalaya are both home to small communities of ethnic Chinese who run small businesses and are generally well assimilated in society.

Terror attacks feared ahead of Chinese workers returning to Indonesia

Anti-communist sentiment in Indonesia has a long history of being taken out on the ethnic Chinese community. In 1965, the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party killed six high-ranking generals, sparking large-scale civil unrest in which hundreds of thousands of people – including ethnic Chinese – suspected of leftist leanings were killed, often at the hands of the armed forces and anti-communist militias.

Suspicions of links between the ethnic Chinese community and the communist party linger to this day, often finding voice in media hoaxes and fake news.

The security source said the Jemaah Islamiah terrorists were planning to infiltrate local motorbike gangs in the two areas and to create “chaos” that would distract the police.

“And when the police were tied up with the gangs, that’s when Jemaah Islamiah would attack the shops and shop owners. That was the plan. But we have stopped them with the arrests,” said the source. The arrests took place between April and August.

The source said the plan had been flawed even before the arrests, because bike gangs in Indonesia were focused on racing and did not have the criminal associations of some biker gangs in the United States.

BACK IN BUSINESS

The plot marks a return to terror attacks for the group, which has become less active since the slaying of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011. Prior to bin Laden’s death, the group had been responsible for every major terrorist attack in Indonesia between 1999 and 2010.

While attacks since then have fallen off the security source said the group had sent 80 people to fight in Syria for the Al-Nusra Front, often described as al-Qaeda in Syria.

Since 2016, all major terror attacks in Indonesia have been carried out by the Islamic State affiliate, Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, widely seen as a rival to Jemaah Islamiah.

Between June 1 and August 12, a total of 72 terrorism suspects from both Jemaah Islamiah and Jemaah Ansharut Daulah had been arrested, said Indonesian police spokesman Awi Setiyono. He credited “preventive strikes” carried out by Densus 88 (Detachment 88), Indonesia’s special police counterterrorism task force, for foiling attacks.

US-China tensions heighten terror threat in Indonesia, experts warn

In recent years, Jemaah Islamiah has transformed its funding model, from relying on robberies and donations to investing in more traditional businesses.

Last year, when police arrested its leader Para Wijayanto, they discovered the group had business interests in palm oil plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra. This enabled the group to pay its “officers” a monthly salary of 10-15 million rupiah (US$680 to US$1,022), according to police.

Wijayanto was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment on terrorism charges by a court in Jakarta last July.

Nasir Abas, a former leader of Jemaah Islamiah once known as the “most wanted” jihadi in Southeast Asia, said the recent arrests showed “the growth of Para Wijayanto’s network”.

“Jemaah Islamiah still has many members. They continue to move like before, inviting people to sign up as members and carry out preparations to establish an Islamic State [in Indonesia] … not much different from the Jemaah Islamiah of the past,” said Nasir, who left the group in 2003 and is now involved in deradicalisation efforts and other initiatives to counter violent extremism.