On November 7, 2025, a devastating incident shook Jakarta’s school community and sent ripples of concern across Southeast Asia. Explosive devices detonated at a school complex in the Indonesian capital during Friday prayers, injuring over 90 students, many of whom suffered burns and wounds from flying shrapnel and shattered glass. Though, remarkably, no deaths were reported, the event has left a lasting mark on the city’s sense of safety and has opened a new chapter in the region’s ongoing struggle with radicalization and violence.
According to The Straits Times and corroborated by Indonesian authorities, the suspected perpetrator was a 17-year-old student from a neighboring school. He, too, was seriously injured in the blasts and underwent surgery after being taken to the hospital. Police investigations revealed that the teenager had prepared seven crude explosive devices at home, three of which failed to detonate. Some of these makeshift bombs were concealed inside soft drink cans, a chilling detail that underscores both the accessibility of dangerous information online and the ingenuity—albeit misguided—of the attacker.
At the scene, police discovered two toy guns covered in scrawled handwriting. The writing referenced notorious mass attackers, including Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Christchurch mosque shooter of 2019, and Anton Lund Pettersson, who carried out a deadly school attack in Sweden in 2015. One of the toy guns even bore the phrase “For Agartha,” a nod to the hollow earth conspiracy theory positing the existence of a secret, advanced civilization beneath the planet’s surface. These bizarre references painted a disturbing picture of the perpetrator’s influences: a tangled web of far-right, white supremacist, and conspiratorial ideologies, all apparently picked up from the dark corners of the internet.
Jakarta police chief Asep Edi Suheri told reporters that the perpetrator was “inspired by attacks previously carried out by white supremacist figures and neo-Nazi groups,” but clarified that the teenager did not appear to belong to any specific hardline group or organized network. Instead, Suheri said, the student’s motive was rooted in “revenge for perceived bullying and loneliness.” There are strong indications that the attacker may have also drawn inspiration from other infamous school shootings, such as the 1999 Columbine massacre in the United States, which left 13 people dead and continues to cast a long shadow over youth culture worldwide.
This attack marks a grim first for Indonesia: never before has a school attack in the country been so clearly linked to far-right ideology and references to mass attackers from Europe, Oceania, or North America. Previous high-profile acts of terrorism in Indonesia have almost exclusively been tied to Islamic hardline groups. The 2002 Bali bombing, which killed 202 people, the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel attack in Jakarta, and the 2018 Surabaya church bombings—all were perpetrated by members of groups like Jemaah Islamiyah or Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), organizations with direct or indirect ties to al-Qaida or the so-called Islamic State.
But the Jakarta school bombing stands apart. As The Straits Times notes, “school attacks in Indonesia are rare, as is violence that directly references right-wing ideology or far right figures from Europe, Oceania, or North America.” The emergence of such an attack, especially involving such a young perpetrator, has prompted a broader reckoning over the spread of extremist ideologies in Southeast Asia—ideologies that are increasingly global, fragmented, and fueled by the internet.
Indeed, the rise of the internet and the so-called “dark web” has made it easier than ever for disillusioned young people to stumble across radical content. The Jakarta attacker reportedly learned bomb-making techniques online, echoing a disturbing trend seen elsewhere in the region. In Singapore, for example, a 13-year-old was killed in 2012 by a 16-year-old student in a meticulously planned attack, and just this year, a 14-year-old was issued a restriction order after authorities found he had been influenced by a “salad bar” of extremist ideologies, including both ISIL and far-right extremism. He also reportedly identified as an “incel,” a term describing men who feel unable to find romantic or sexual partners and who sometimes turn to online forums that foster resentment and violence.
While Indonesia has long contended with the threat of organized terror groups, the Jakarta school bombing signals a shift—an evolution in the nature of radicalization. As The Straits Times explains, “In days gone by, extremism in Indonesia often meant joining a physical group where ‘members’ knew each other in person and met frequently at social or community gatherings.” Today, however, “disillusioned individuals can now fall into online rabbit holes that bolster violent views—however nonsensical.” The attacker’s references to both real-world mass murderers and far-fetched conspiracy theories are emblematic of this new, decentralized form of radicalism, where ideology is less about coherent doctrine and more about a patchwork of grievance, isolation, and online myth-making.
Notably, Indonesian police have so far refrained from labeling the Jakarta school bombing as a terrorist or religiously motivated act. Despite the attack taking place during Muslim Friday prayers, authorities have been careful to emphasize the personal and psychological factors at play, rather than casting the incident in the mold of past religiously motivated attacks. As of November 14, 2025, the investigation is ongoing, and the full picture of the attacker’s motivations and influences is still emerging.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Malaysia, the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) are grappling with their own high-profile investigation. On November 14, 2025, PDRM confirmed they are working closely with Indonesian authorities following a viral video implicating an Indonesian footballer in a bribe allegation. The case involves members of the Motorcycle Patrol Unit (URB), who are accused of soliciting money during a routine inspection in Subang Jaya. According to The Star, a police report has been filed and an investigation is underway under Section 504 of the Penal Code.
Selangor Police Chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar stated, “Statements have been taken from the complainant, who is a URB officer, and his colleagues. However, statements from the individual claiming to be the footballer could not be obtained as they have returned to their home country.” PDRM is now liaising with strategic partners abroad and may utilize the Malaysian police representative at the Indonesian embassy to obtain necessary testimony.
These two stories—one of a school attack with unprecedented ideological undertones, the other of cross-border cooperation in a high-profile bribery case—underscore the increasing complexity of crime and radicalization in Southeast Asia. Whether online or offline, local or international, the challenges faced by law enforcement and communities alike are evolving rapidly, demanding new approaches and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping today’s youth.
As investigations continue in both Jakarta and Subang Jaya, authorities and citizens are left to grapple with difficult questions about the roots of violence, the role of the internet in spreading dangerous ideas, and the importance of cross-border cooperation in an interconnected world.
