Mas Selamat not extradited to Singapore due to security reasons

Posted: 25 June 2009 1922 hrs

Photo taken of Mas Selamat Kastari after his arrest on April 1.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant leader Mas Selamat Kastari is still being detained in Malaysia due to security reasons.

The terrorist, who once plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport, was captured in Malaysia's Johor in April this year after escaping from Singapore's Whitley Road Detention Centre in February last year.

Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Mas Selamat was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) as he is deemed a threat to the country.

Speaking in the Malaysian parliament on Thursday, the minister said Mas Selamat's ISA detention would ensure that his activities and contacts with other militant groups in Asia could be contained.

"The ministry has sufficient information to arrest him under the ISA," said Mr Hishammuddin. "We know his background, the details of his plan, network and contact with militant groups.

"He is arrested under the ISA as the government finds that he not only poses a threat to the country but also to the neighbouring countries like Singapore and Indonesia."

"Believe me, from the information that we have gathered, it was a serious plan," said Mr Hishammuddin. "We did not extradite Mas Selamat as we are concerned it will undermine the country's peace and put the people's safety at risk."

The minister also told reporters that Malaysia needed the cooperation from Indonesia to carry out its investigations.

- CNA/ir

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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He hid in Singapore for four days

This is already past, but just would like to put in on record; chronicle file. This is a look into the mind of a escaping fugitive… will someone duplicate the effort?

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MAS SELAMAT'S ESCAPE

Mas Selamat managed to evade arrest — despite having thousands of security personnel looking for him. TODAY FILE PHOTO

JOHOR BARU — Despite a massive manhunt that was launched immediately following his escape, Mas Selamat Kastari managed to remain in Singapore undetected for four days, according to a Bernama report.

It was only on the night of the fourth day after he slipped out of the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27 last year that Mas Selamat reached Woodlands, the report, quoting a source familiar with operation to nab the Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive, said yesterday.

Mas Selamat, who walks with a limp, apparently hid himself in several places before reaching Woodlands.

From there, he was believed to have swum cross the Tebrau Strait towards Stulang Laut in Johor Baru under the cover of darkness, the source added.

"He used the buoy lights, which mark the border at the Tebrau Strait, as his guide to reach the place where he thought he could find a refuge," he said.

The question of how Mas Selamat managed to evade arrest — despite having thousands of security personnel looking for him in Singapore — remains unanswered for now.

"It is still a puzzle how he managed to avoid arrest and travel up to Woodlands, which is not a short distance from Whitley Road.

"Perhaps, we will be able to know later whether he had walked to Woodlands or used public transport, and the route he had taken to reach Woodlands," the source told Bernama.

Apart from the usual tight security at the Woodlands checkpoint, the Singapore authorities had also stepped up security in Tebrau Strait in anticipation of Mas Selamat making a dash across the narrow waterway.

The Singapore Police Coast Guard, for example, stationed boats in every kilometre along the sea border, said the source.

The search for Mas Selamat, now 48, finally ended on April 1 when he was captured by the Malaysian Special Branch at a kampung house in Skudai, Johor. He remains in the custody of the Malaysian authorities at an undisclosed location.

From TODAY, News – Thursday, 14-May-2009

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Report: Top terror suspect hid in Malaysia village

This is the version of the report from Yahoo! News...

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AP - Monday, May 11

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Islamic militant suspect recently recaptured after escaping from a Singapore jail avoided detection for a year by living in an isolated Malaysian hamlet and rarely leaving his wooden house on stilts, a newspaper said Monday.

The Star daily reported that Mas Selamat Kastari, one of the most wanted terror suspects in the region, lived in Tawakal, a village of less than 100 people in the southern Johor state. It said residents were shocked to find out the fugitive had been living among them.

"He never spoke to anyone and kept to himself. And he never prayed at the local prayer room," resident Mohamad Saat, 56, was quoted as saying.

Mas Selamat, the alleged Singapore commander of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group, was sometimes seen gardening or fishing in a canal behind his house, and went out rarely. If he did, it was usually after dark, dressed in a long white robe and white turban, the report said.

Mas Selamat escaped from a high-security Singapore jail on Feb. 27, 2008, which severely embarrassed the city-state known for its rigorous security. According to Singapore authorities, he was caught again on April 1 by Malaysian security forces.

Malaysian authorities have confirmed the arrest but shared no more details. Police on Monday would not confirm The Star's unattributed report.

Mas Selamat, a Singaporean citizen of Indonesian origin, is alleged to have plotted to hijack a plane and fly it into Singapore international airport, its government says. He was caught by the Indonesian police in 2006 and handed over to Singapore, where he was being held under the Internal Security Act that allows indefinite detention without trial.

He escaped detention in Singapore by wriggling out a bathroom window just ahead of a scheduled visit by his family.

Mas Selamat, who walks with a limp, is said to have used an improvised flotation device to swim across the Strait of Johor _ the narrow waterway that separates Malaysia from Singapore _ after his escape.

It was unclear why he ended up in Tawakal, where he rented the basement of a two-story wooden house on stilts, and how authorities learned of his whereabouts. The Star said Tawakal lies in a remote neighborhood surrounded by oil palms about 7 miles (10 kilometers) from the North-South Expressway that stretches the length of Malaysia.

The report said Mas Selamat was captured in a pre-dawn police raid on his house. The landlord of the house, who lived upstairs, was also arrested, it said.

It quoted resident Mohamad Saat Marjo as saying that some 30 armed policemen surrounded the house and ordered Mas Selamat to come out before breaking through the doors. They led him out with his face covered in a dark blue checkered cloth.

Police are now holding Mas Selamat under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which is similar to Singapore's ISA. Malaysia has not said when or if he will be handed back to Singapore.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

His hideout revealed

Villagers in sleepy Kampung Tawakal stunned to discover reclusive stranger was a fugitive

by Leong Wee Keat

05:55 AM May 12, 2009

 

EVEN the next-door neighbours had diverging ideas about who he was, eight months after he moved into their rustic Johor kampung.

Mas Selamat Kastari lived on the ground floor of this house.

Photo by ERNEST CHUA

Mr Jamian Simin, who often saw the man gardening or repairing the drains, thought he was a live-in subcontractor hired by his neighbour Johar Hassan. “He was very quiet,” the 70-year-old retiree told Today. “Almost to the extent of being aloof.”

Another neighbour was spun a different tale: The stranger was Johar’s “cousin” who was staying with them as he had “family problems”, he was told.

The man was polite, said the neighbour, and spent his time lazing on the porch of the two-storey house, bathing from a well in the backyard, or going fishing at a nearby canal and barbequing his catch.

Other neighbours told The Star that he ventured out only after dark, in a white robe and turban. “He never spoke to anyone. And he never prayed at the local surau,’’ said Mr Mohd Saat Marjo, 56, who lived opposite.

But Kampung Tawakal was more than a retreat for the reclusive stranger while he sorted out his domestic issues. The tiny village, with a population of less than 100, appeared the ideal hiding place for Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari.

About a 30-minute drive from the Causeway and 20 minutes away from Skudai town, Kampung Tawakal nestles between oil palm plantations and the Berjaya industrial estate, with the Starhill Golf and Country Club a short distance away.

Not marked on most maps and with no signs pointing to it, the village that sits 10km off the North-South Highway is almost impossible to locate for those unfamiliar with the area - it took the Today team more than two hours and several requests for directions.

But once at the village, the house where Mas Selamat was captured on April 1 stood out.

 

Like time stood still.

While the other houses had been rebuilt with concrete and coated with fresh paint, this house was made of wood and the paint had long since faded off. Electrical wires, which skirted the exterior, were left dangling and holes marked the walls.

In the kitchen where Mas Selamat sought refuge.

Photo by ERNEST CHUA

Shoes, slippers, toys, wood and bicycle parts littered the unfenced, spacious compound about the size of a basketball court. At the back were sheds that stored wooden doors, scrap metal and plastic pipes.

The interior of the house - or what could be seen through the windows - appeared neat and tidy. A punching bag hung in the living area of the ground floor where Mas Selamat resided.

It looked as if time had stood still for the house: Dead fish floated in an aquarium, and a wheelbarrow was filled with dried leaves and branches that someone was clearing before the work was abruptly interrupted.

Villagers recalled when that moment was. At about 6am on April 1, Mr Tukiman Aziz was sending his child to school when seven unmarked cars whizzed past.

“I didn’t know what was going on. We never had that many cars entering the village at once,” he said.

The cars stopped at Johar’s house. Mr Jamian, who was having tea with his wife, said some 30 armed policemen surrounded the house and ordered Mas Selamat to come out. When he refused, they stormed in.

The backyard, which has a well where neighbours said Mas Selamat had bathed.

Photo by ERNEST CHUA

 

Villagers then saw a man being led out with his face covered in a dark blue cloth. The operation was over in “a few minutes”, they said, and no shots were heard. Afterward, the officers searched the house and swept the compound with devices.

 

A kampung bewildered

According to The Star, last week Johar was arrested at his workplace. He was reportedly one of two men who came to the fugitive’s aid after he swam across the Johor Straits using an improvised flotation device.

Picture from Yahoo! News

Villagers knew little about Johar or his wife and two young children, who moved into the kampung two years ago. They had lived on the second floor while Mas Selamat had occupied the ground floor. Neighbours said Johar’s wife kept to herself and was seen around the village wearing a veil.

Yesterday, as the Singapore and Malaysia media descended on the sleepy village, bewildered residents found themselves unexpectedly the centre of attention.

Many could not believe the stranger who had lived in their midst was a fugitive terrorist who had been on the run for more than 13 months. “I never thought he was Mas Selamat,” said Mr Tukiman. “He seemed like a normal person. Like you and me.”

From TODAY, Home – Tuesday, 12-May-2009

Should the Committee of Inquiry be reconvened?

Letter from Leong Sze Hian

05:55 AM May 09, 2009

NOW that Mas Selamat Kastari has been captured, Singaporeans must be waiting in anticipation for his interrogation to be completed, to find out how he escaped.

I would like to suggest that the Committee of Inquiry be reconvened so that we can take appropriate measures to ensure that this does not happen again.

In the interest of fairness, the reprimand of the officers concerned may also be reviewed to see if any of them may be less to blame, in the light of new information. After all, they were judged based on the Committee of Inquiry’s understanding of the most likely escape scenario at the time.

From TODAY, Voices – Weekend, 09/10-May-2009

Well done, everyone

Letter from M Lukshumayeh

05:55 AM May 09, 2009

WELL done to the Singapore Government and to our security services for delivering on their promise to the nation of capturing Mas Selamat Kastari.

It is very heartening and reassuring to note the excellent working relationship and cooperation between the Singapore and Malaysian security agencies. Thank you, and well done Malaysia.

It was important to apprehend Mas Selamat not only because of the security threat he could have posed to Singapore and the region but also because it brings to an end all the theories of his death during detention and that the announcement of his escape was a ploy to cover it up.

Singapore’s agencies have redeemed themselves, but let us never forget the words of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew that we should never allow complacency to set in again.

From TODAY, Voices – Weekend, 09/10-May-2009

How he got away

Image via Wikipedia

Other than how he was caught, I am more interested in how he got away… well, the question remains: will this incident be repeated?

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by Leong Wee Keat weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

05:55 AM May 09, 2009

THE narrow, some 1km strip of water separating Singapore and Malaysia is known for its fast-flowing currents, rocky outcrops and deep waters. Not many dare to swim across the Johor Strait and few live to tell the tale. And one of those few is Singapore’s infamous fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari.

Soon after he escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre here on Feb 27 last year, Mas Selamat travelled at least 14 km - it remains unclear how - and ended up at an unknown location somewhere on Singapore’s northern shore.

The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader, who walks with a limp due to an earlier fall, then used an improvised floatation device to swim across the strait. This is a well-known technique used by some illegal immigrants to enter Singapore.

Although the Police Coast Guard had stepped up patrols of the waters after his escape, security experts say it is impossible for their efforts to secure the border to be water-tight.

Once Mas Selamat reached the other side, he disappeared into the sprawl of Johor Baru and managed to stay one step ahead of the authorities for more than 12 months. Until April 1.

On that day, acting on a credible lead uncovered and developed by the Internal Security Department (ISD), the Malaysian Special Branch (MSB) swooped in on Mas Selamat, now 48, and arrested him in the outskirts of Johor Baru.

According to Bernama, Mas Selamat was arrested near Skudai, about 25km from Johor Baru. “We know that he has relatives staying in Skudai,” a source said.

Photographs and fingerprints provided earlier by the Singapore authorities were used to identify Mas Selamat.

His arrest was first reported by Singapore media on Friday, and was later confirmed by both governments in Singapore and Malaysia. He is now being held at an unknown location.

Details of how Mas Selamat managed to make his way to Johor remain sketchy, although the authorities believe, for now, that he did not receive any help in the process.

Addressing the media on Friday, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said the authorities here “don’t know all the details” of Mas Selamat’s escape, as he is still being questioned by the Malaysian authorities. “Until he is brought back to Singapore and ISD interviewed him, we do not have much information on that,” he added.

While many questions remain about his escape, his arrest put paid to at least one conspiracy theory that had been circulating on the Internet.

Then, many claimed that Mas Selamat had died while being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The Government, the theory went, had spun an unbelievable story about how he escaped from the high-security detention centre - by squeezing through a toilet window that had no bars and climbing over a fence - to cover up his death.

Mas Selamat’s arrest also marks the third time that the ISD - which incurred both public wrath and ridicule over the escape - had tracked him down. The other two occasions were when he was on the run in Indonesia between 2003 and 2006.

Mr Wong, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, said that the ISD had begun developing some leads late last year and had shared them with its Malaysian counterparts.
He paid tribute to the ISD officers on Friday. “ISD officers worked very hard, even after the setback last year,” said Mr Wong.

Given that Mas Selamat’s capture is a cause for rejoice, why did it take the Government more than a month to make public the arrest?

There was a need to maintain secrecy, Mr Wong explained, adding that the Government had been told of the capture “soon after” April 1.

Mas Selamat’s arrest occurred around the same time that the Malaysian authorities captured three other people for suspected activities linked to the JI terrorist network.

WEEKEND TODAY understands that only a few people within the Government and the ISD knew of the capture. Even the Home Team’s rank-and-file learnt about it only on Friday, like most Singaporeans.

One terrorism expert said the authorities probably did not want to alert Mas Selamat’s accomplices, if any, of his capture.

“The time could also have been spent getting operational information from him on plans, identities of accomplices, evidence of links with other JI cells in Indonesia,” said Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

Some terrorism experts believe that Mas Selamat had made the wrong move by staying put in Johor for the past 13 months, rather than venture further to Indonesia, or Thailand.

“I would have thought he would have been caught in southern Thailand,” said RSIS senior fellow Antonio Rappa. “If he were smart, he would have gone there.”

His RSIS colleague, Dr John Harrisson, also felt that Mas Selamat “clearly misjudged his personal security by remaining in the area for any length of time”.

Mr Wong, asked when Singapore will gain custody of Mas Selamat, replied that the Malaysian authorities still want to interview the JI militant.

“We will let them do the job and when they feel that it is time to send him back to us, we will be happy to receive him back.”

Will Mas Selamat be detained once again at the same detention centre where he made his headline-grabbing escape?

Mr Wong replied: “Today, Whitley Road Detention Centre is very different from the one on Feb 27, 2008. Many security measures have been put in place and that is the place we are going to put him in.”

From TODAY, Home – Weekend, 09/10-May-2009

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