The Indonesian police department announced that it would be beefing up its security measures ahead of the holiday season throughout the country. The call to improved security came after several unfortunate incidents in Sydney and Malaysia have once more sparked terrorism scare across the region.
According to National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the Indonesian police will be taking 'greater pre-caution than usual', following the hostage-taking in a Sydney cafe on Monday where three were killed, including the Iranian hostage-taker.
The suspect, known as Man Haron Monis, was reportedly a sympathizer of the international group ISIL. The hostage crisis lasted for 16 hours and spread panic throughout the city's CBD.
Indonesian police will surely want to prevent any similar situation in the country, especially as Christmas looms in – a Christian holiday.
"We're making the necessary preparations for Operation Candle, which will run from December 24 to January 2 to safeguard this year's Christmas and New Year celebrations," said Haiti.
"But we won't rely on this operation alone. Densus 88 has also launched an intelligence operation."
The Densus 88 operation has recently arrested two suspected terrorists, identified as Yodo Adem and Farid Tinombo in Parigi Moutong and Poso, considered as a local hotspot for terrorist groups.
Last week, Malaysian customs officers arrested 12 Indonesian nationals as more people in the region sympathize in favor of the terrorist group. The arrested Indonesian nationals, who reportedly included four women and five minors, were on their way to Syria.