| Mas Selamat Caught | |||||
| 'Jalan Selamat' Dead-end trails in hilly Johor | |||||
| Photojournalist ZAIHAN MOHD YUSOF gets on sports bike and surveys possible escape routes taken by terrorist Mas Selamat while on the run | |||||
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RECCE REPORT 1
Johor location: Oil Palm Plantation on the outskirts of Bandar Nusajaya.
This would've been the shortest escape route for Mas Selamat.
Landing at the oil palm plantation would allow him the 'perfect cover' due to its vastness. Nobody ventures there except oil palm workers, said Mr Mastur, a 25-year-old Indonesian who works on the estate.
The place is deserted as it is hilly, damp and mosquito-infested.
But this route is not without its difficulties.
On the Singapore side (Sungei Gedong), Mas Selamat would have been faced with the long fence along the live firing area.
This would have prevented him a direct line of sight to the plantation.
Also, once across, he could get lost.
Said Mr Mastur: 'He would have to depend on good navigational skills to get out of here safely. During my first year working here, I got lost many times. Every bend in the estate looks the same. You can walk the whole day and not bump into anybody. It was scary for me at first.'
Mas Selamat would also need to be an expert at finding food as there is hardly anything edible in the palm estate.
'There's no village here. The only source of food would be wild boars and snakes. And you're unlikely to find a clean source of water here,' he said.
Perhaps Mas Selamat sought help from workers in the estate.
Mr Mastur added: 'The illegal workers may not know who Mas Selamat is.
'(Even if they did) they wouldn't dare to make a police report for fear of being arrested themselves.'
If Mas Selamat was able to reach the estate's main road, lorry drivers or bikers would not mind giving a stranded person a lift.
Who knows, an unsuspecting motorist could have given him a lift all the way to Skudai, less than an hour's drive away.
RECCE REPORT 2
Johor location: Malay village in town of Nusa Jaya, about 30 minutes' drive from Second Link.
This old Malay village looks like an ideal place for an escapee to lie low.
Families and homes mean there's food, clothing and shoes that can be begged for or stolen.
It is very close to Singapore. So close that from Johor fisherman Umar Fiee's home, you can clearly see the sloped jetty where seafood is loaded onto awaiting lorries at Lim Chu Kang in Singapore.
On some days, Mr Umar, 64, said he can hear the live firing exercises near Poyan reservoir.
He has even made the watery journey himself.
In the '60s, he and his friends used to challenge each other and swim across to Singapore.
Said Mr Umar, a father of six: 'Back then the rules were more relaxed. We had no passports.
'But the trick is not to start too strong, you need to pace yourself when swimming. It usually took me about an hour.'
Nowadays, when Malaysian fishermen like Mr Umar stray too close to Singapore waters, the Singapore Police Coast Guard or soldiers tell them to turn back.
Mr Umar believes Mas Selamat could have taken advantage of outcrops like Pulau Sarimbun to take a breather.
Or he could have rested at one of the many mussel harvesting kelongs before deciding where to land.
'Unlike the Singapore kelongs, we do not keep dogs. So Mas Selamat's presence would not be detected.'
Yet, the stretch of 8km along Kampung Sungei Melayu, which is a hotspot for illegal immigrants trying to swim into Singapore, is not without danger.
Mr Umar said bodies have been found entangled in fishermen's nets, the result of 'failed attempts' to cross the straits.
Just two years ago, a female China national was a victim, he recalled.
As for food, Mas Selamat could've eaten fruits growing wild, or stolen from homes.
He said: 'Kampung people trust each other. So we leave our clothes drying out in the open. We seldom lock our doors. And there is almost no activity when it gets dark here.
'If Mas Selamat had been spotted, we would definitely know that he is not from around here.'
But most kampung folk may not be aware who Mas Selamat is or what he has done. He would've been just another passer-by.
Mr Umar said because of the lax security, bicycles and motorcycles have gone missing in the village. With a stolen getaway vehicle, Mas Selamat would have been able to find his way out of the kampung to the highway some 10km away.
From there, Skudai is less than 20km away.
RECCE REPORT 3
Johor location: These sit on the left and right of Causeway respectively.
In order to land on this stretch, Mas Selamat would have to start swimming from Woodlands, which Malaysian authorities believe he did.
Unlike the other two spots, this is built-up urban landscape, with a coastline dotted with food stalls, picnicking crowds and parked cars.
There is a bus service that plies up and down Jalan Skudai, the main artery heading northwards into Malaysia.
Despite the distance, with the help of currents, Mas Selamat's swim across the Johor Strait would be less taxing, said Mr Mohd Shafie, 26, a cleaner at the beach.
He said: 'Every morning, I find oil drums, plastic containers, styrofoam boxes and bottles along the shore. If he had been among these items floating in the water, no one would've seen him.'
The advantage of this destination is that Mas Selamat would've been able to quickly blend in the crowd once he reached the shore.
'There is a city mentality here. Nobody cares who you are. If Mas Selamat put a baseball hat on, he would look like an average person in the city,' said Mr Mohd.
That makes this landing point an obvious stop, which is probably why Singapore Coast Guard patrols seem to be more frequent.
Added Mr Mohd: 'I have seen secondary school students swimming from Stulang Laut to the half-way point between Malaysia and Singapore on the Johor Strait.
'They can get there in about 25 minutes before the Singapore Police patrol boats warn them to move back into Malaysian waters. Mas Selamat would've needed a lot of luck.'
Trail of a fugitive...
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