general elections in 2004." Hamzah is also reported to be as an apologist for and friend of Abu Bakar Bashir, who is the spiritual leader for the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah. While vice president, Hamzah made a public show of inviting Bashir to dinner, and visited his jihadist pesantren (religious school) in Pondok Ngruki. Hamzah denied that Bashir was connected to terrorism up until Bashir's arrest in October 2002, and was quoted as saying before Bashir's arrest "If you want to arrest Abu Bakar Bashir .. you will have to deal with me first." In October 2002, an article in Time stated "That clerics like Abubakar [Bashir] have powerful military and political allies is no secret: the nation's Vice-President Hamzah Haz is one of them." Time reported that Hamzah described his relationship with Bashir and Laskar Jihad leader Jafar Umar Thalib as "very close", but Time added, "many see this relationship as a purely political ploy to woo Muslim voters ahead of the 2004 election." Hamzah, although he "has a reputation as a wily politician" nevertheless "will be remembered for a particularly ill-judged speech before Muslim clerics at Abubakar's Solo boarding school in May [2002]", the newsmagazine reported. During that visit Hamzah was also reported to have said, "If they can prove there are terrorists here I'll be the first to order an arrest", and then stepped down from the podium and kissed Abubakar on both cheeks. In 2002, an Australian academic cited Hamzah as the "best example" of Islamic politicians in Indonesia "prepared to play the extremist card to attract extra votes". Hamzah "has supported Jemaah Islamiyah and has even been instrumental in having its members released from detention in the past", according to Tim Lindsey, director of the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne. "He has also openly accused the CIA and the United States of carrying out the Bali bombing." Denial of terrorists in the country In 2002 Hamzah gave an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which broadcast it on 23 October. In a voice-over played during the television interview, an ABC journalist said, "Before the Bali bombing, Vice President Hamzah Haz insisted there were no terrorists in Indonesia. After the bombing, he gave this extraordinary justification for that position:" Hamzah Haz press statement: "If I as vice president said that Indonesia has terrorists, no one would come to Indonesia, no investors would