‘We cannot afford such luxury,’ Nuci argued. ‘If you insist, then you will have to meet that expense yourself.’
Johanis smiled insolently. ‘My Coker friends will contribute.’ Then, with a contemptuous look at his in-laws-to-be, ‘and we wouldn’t want to disappoint the Cokers, would we?’
Intimidated by the not-so-masked innuendo, Nuci and Laurens exchanged anxious looks. The Cokers, the street name for the delinquent Ambonese Cowok Kristen, or Christian Boys, used the Marantha Protestant church as their headquarters. Rumor had it that they were closely associated with other Moluccan gangs in Jakarta where they dominated the shopping centers and gambling dens – and had access to the Palace. ‘It’s settled then,’ Johanis announced with youthful arrogance, the decision now a fait accompli. He pushed a plate in Laurens’ direction.
‘Now, why don’t you have some more of my mother’s lalampa?’
Malaysia – Kelantan
Mohamed Aziz Derashid looked out across the verdant sawah, the paddy fields stretching all the way across this northern Malaysian state of Kelantan to the southern Thai border, where towering cumulus clouds stacked the horizon. Sensing that weather conditions would imminently terminate the satellite conversation the Malaysian strained to capture Mohammed Atef ’s drifting words, Derashid’s passive understanding of French exacerbating the problem.
‘Hambali’s visitor… from the Philippines… should be there… by now.’ With the atmospheric interference the al-Qaeda military commander’s voice sounded more strained than usual.
‘Ramzi?’ Mohamed Aziz Derashid was surprised.
‘This is an open line,’ Atef warned. Aware of foreign intelligence agencies’ sophisticated monitoring systems, their conversation was deliberately ambiguous.
‘No,’ Osama’s trusted lieutenant added, ‘from… further south.’ Derashid guessed that Atef was referring to the young Abu Sayyaf leader Abdurajak Janjalani who had recently established dialogue with al-Qaeda via Ramzi Yousef, in Manila.
‘Then they’re about to make their move?’ Derashid was pleased that Atef was keeping him informed.
‘Insha Allah,’ came the reply.
Derashid replaced the receiver and beckoned to his personal assistant standing courteously out of earshot at the far end of the bungalow’s veranda. ‘Get the plane ready,’ was all Derashid said; his PA disappearing as would a ghost in sunlight to ensure that the crew and aircraft were placed on standby. Alone, Derashid leaned back in the heavily cushioned rattan chair and absorbed the natural beauty of the terraced landscape below, the steep hillside contoured to accommodate never-ending fields of rice, shaped to enable the intricate irrigation system to flow harmoniously. The isolated country retreat was seven hours by car north of Kuala Lumpur’s forest-fire-polluted atmosphere and he filled his lungs with country air and lay quietly, thinking, contemplating his relationship with those with whom he shared similar ideologies.
* * * *
Derashid was the son of a wealthy Malay Datuk, his father’s title having been acquired through substantial donations to the local state government officials. The Datuk was a prominent player in developing the Malaysian economy, the entrepreneur’s considerable holdings and wealth continuing to swell over the years, the consequence of the successful completion of a string of major infrastructure projects won through closed-door tenders. Bulan Sabit Holdings Sdn Bhd had then branched out into the resources sector, the group’s subsidiaries growing expo-nentially with Malaysia’s energy development boom.
An only child, Derashid had enjoyed an upbringing surrounded by wealth and envy, his ethnic heritage as a Malay bumi putera or indigene, a point of considerable pride.
Immersed at an early age in the teachings contained in the Koran, Derashid evolved into a devotee of Islam’s more fundamentalist leanings, his commitment to the purist interpretations slowly creating an inner conflict and challenges he could not share with his father. Educated in England where he earned degrees in commerce and engineering, the Malaysian established strong personal links with a number of Saudi students. Upon graduation, he departed for Riyadh, already markedly resentful towards the British establishment and its not-so-disguised colonial distaste for those who dared to challenge the social divides. Derashid remained in Saudi Arabia for a year consolidating his relationships with his former fellow students and their families. He journeyed to Mecca on Haj – his outlook on life for a man still in his early years maturing immensely during this extended sojourn away from home.
Upon his return to Malaysia, Derashid announced that he was not ready to launch himself into the family’s commercial activities; instead, he went in relentless pursuit of others who shared his opposition to the American presence in Saudi Arabia and the West’s growing influence in Asia.
One evening he was invited to attend an usrah, a religious discussion held in secret at the Kampung Sungai Manggis village in Banting, Selangor. It was there that Derashid first sighted the Indonesian speaker, Riduan Isamuddin. The meeting had been arranged for members of the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia, the Malaysian Militant Association grass roots’ supporters of the Indonesian-founded militant group, Islamic Community, Jemaah Islamiyah. He had been moved by Riduan when the cleric addressed the meeting chronicling his exploits in Afghanistan, Derashid observing closely as others in attendance were seduced by Riduan’s charismatic spell. The following month and much to the consternation of his parents Mohamed Aziz Derashid assumed another identity and disappeared from his homeland. When he returned the following year he was visibly changed, hardened by the time he had spent in Afghanistan, his sentiments now placing him on a road blighted by fanaticism which blurred the true Islamic way.
At the age of thirty and at the request of his ailing father, Mohamed Aziz Derashid assumed the role of CEO of the family company, managing assets in excess of two hundred million Ringgit, further enhancing his attraction to the man identified by a select few as ‘ the Sheikh’, aka Osama bin Laden.
As of that time, only bin Laden and his inner circle were privy to Derashid’s double identity, the relationship forged during his odyssey in Afghanistan and later nurtured by Atef through frequent communication.
Derashid remained in contemplative mood and considered how he might do even more to limit his exposure; his association with the terrorist group delicately concealed by a series of firewalls through his myriad of corporate entities held under his Malaysian flagship company, Bulan Sabit Holdings Sdn Bhd. The Malaysian was in no way involved in any operational aspect connected to al-Qaeda or its many loosely-knit offshoots, although Atef had sought Derashid’s advice in establishing the front organizations through which funding for field operations would flow. Amongst these was Konsojaya Sdn Bhd, a corporate entity for which the Kuala Lumpur companies’ registry would list Hambali and Wali Khan Amin Shah as co-directors and shareholders.
Initially, Derashid had suggested that Atef veto Shah’s involvement, citing the United States claim that he had been a principal instigator of the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing in New York. However when Atef reported that Mohammed Jamal Khalifa had insisted the company composition remain as originally contrived, Derashid refrained from further comment, pleased that he was in no way connected to the slow burning fuse.
Malaysia – Petaling Jaya
Riduan Isamuddin, better known by his nom de guerre, Hambali, sat silently also considering his relationship with Wali Khan Amin Shah and Ramzi Yousef, accepting that they were tied at the hip and would remain so, until death did them so part.
Hambali’s given name at birth was Encep Nurjaman, and he was second in a peasant farming family of eleven children that had seen little of the world outside their mountainous West Java village. A serious student from the outset, Hambali attended the Al-I’annah Islamic high school. It was at this time he became drawn to Abu Bakar Bashir,