Indonesian scholar theorizes motives behind Jong-nam's murder

 Teguh Santosa, secretary general of the Indonesia-North Korea Friendship Association, highlighted three possible motives behind the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother Kim Jong-nam. 

Santosa speculated that the murder was an ordinary criminal incident, considering Jong-nam's track record and behavior that were widely reported by international media as a man who often traveled on fake passports, chased women, engaged in gambling practices, and made a fuss.

"The validity of this theory is strong," Santosa noted in a statement received by ANTARA, Saturday.

Santosa's second motive implies that it was an A variant of a political murder in which the mastermind was the state of North Korea that wanted to get rid of Jong-nam who was described as a rebel and had intentions of disrupting and seizing power from Jong-un.

However, Santosa pointed out that the validity of such a theory was weak.

"Its main weakness lies in the involvement of two non-Korean women as the executioners. North Korea is an isolated country that hardly involves other parties for this type of operation," the masters graduate in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa stated.

The third motive indicated that it was a B variant of a political murder in which other parties outside North Korea, with intentions to marginalize the country, had masterminded the assassination.

"The validity of this theory is strong, as the two executioners are probably part of a big operation or can be directed and designed to do the job (murder)," Santosa noted.

According to Santosa, the scene of murder in a crowded public area, such as the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, also strengthened the third theory, as the initial purpose of the murder was to blow up the case, which has been dramatically reported by international media.

Jong-nam, a 45-year-old man, was killed by two women who splashed some chemical liquid on his face at the departure terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Monday, (Feb 13), at around 9 am local time before leaving for Macau.

The two women then got into a taxi and fled. One of the women named Siti Aisyah was arrested at the airport on Wednesday (Feb 15) while trying to flee Malaysia by boarding an aircraft. 

Another suspect, a 29-year-old woman, was carrying a Vietnamese travel document on behalf of Doan Thi Huong.

Head of the Royal Malaysian Police Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, as quoted by The Star on Thursday, said the woman carrying an Indonesian passport was arrested on Thursday at 2 am local time.

Indonesia's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohammad Fachir, has confirmed the authenticity of the passport belonging to Aisyah.

"Yes, the passport is genuine, and she is an Indonesian citizen," Fachir stated at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs in Jakarta on Friday.

He explained that currently, only the data regarding the authenticity of Aisyah's passport had recently been obtained by the Indonesian Embassy to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

"Currently, we do not know whether another Indonesian citizen is involved or if (Aisyah) has a connection with an outside agency," he remarked.

According to Fachir, the Indonesian Embassy is focusing on gaining consular access to be able to meet Aisyah and provide assistance, so that her legal rights will be fully met. 

Source: ANTARA