MAS SELAMAT: Plotting against S'pore

May 9, 2009

MAS SELAMAT'S CAPTURE

Plotting against S'pore

He was 'planning a lot of things' when he was caught, says Najib

By Chua Lee Hoong, Political Editor
		The Indonesian authorities caught up with Mas Selamat in February 2003 on Bintan Island (left). -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

JEMAAH Islamiah (JI) terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari was plotting attacks on Singapore at the time he was captured in Johor on April 1.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak disclosed this to Malaysian media yesterday, hours after Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told local media the JI leader escaped Singapore by swimming across the narrow stretch of water that separates Singapore from Johor, with the help of an 'improvised flotation device'. (See story below)

Third arrest in 6 years Mas Selamat's latest arrest is his third since 2003, and each time information provided by ISD proved crucial, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. The first time was in February 2003 when the Indonesian authorities caught up with him on Bintan Island. A botched escape attempt during his imprisonment left him with a broken left leg and a permanent limp. ... more

Datuk Seri Najib told Malaysian reporters: 'We apprehended him here (in Malaysia), his main focus at the time was Singapore. He was planning a lot of things in Singapore.'

He did not provide details, but said he had 'mentioned this' to Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when they met in Pattaya, Thailand, on April 10-11 for the Asean summit that was eventually aborted because of protests.

Mr Lee was 'very happy and grateful that Malaysia has succeeded in apprehending Mas Selamat', said Mr Najib.

Mas Selamat, leader of a group of Singaporean JI members, escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27 last year.

He was captured in Johor on April 1, according to regional intelligence sources The Straits Times spoke to.

This was confirmed by Mr Wong at a press conference in Singapore yesterday, the same day The Straits Times broke the news of the capture.

Mr Wong said that as far as the authorities know, no local JI network was involved in aiding Mas Selamat's dash from Whitley to Singapore's northern shore.

Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said the Singapore Government did not inform the public of the capture earlier because doing so could jeopardise operational secrecy and perhaps even endanger sources of information.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28568.50

MAS SELAMAT: 'No second escape'

May 9, 2009

MAS SELAMAT'S CAPTURE

'No second escape'

		Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said authorities would ensure the terrorist Mas Selamat does not escape from its custody. -- PHOTO: AFP

MALAYSIAN Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said authorities there would ensure Singapore's most wanted terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari does not escape from its custody.

'We will become an expert in that. The Singapore experience will help us to make sure he does not escape a second time,' he told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

Will Mas Selamat be handed over to the Singapore authorities? 'We will talk to the Singapore as well as the Indonesian authorities. Our ties with Indonesia are very strong and without Indonesia's cooperation, I do not think we were able to make the arrest after his escape from Singapore.' ... more

The leader of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiah terror network is being held under Malaysia's Internal Security Act. Hishammuddin refused to disclose where or when Mas Selamat was arrested, except confirming that 'he is in our custody and being investigated.'

'He was planning something, which allowed us to arrest him,' said the minister.

Asked whether Mas Selamat was planning to create unrest here, he replied: 'I can't go into details. It is too sensitive as it involves three parties and intelligence agencies from Indonesia, Singapore as well as Malaysia. This is something that I cannot say because it involves other people as well.' -- NST

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28568.49

MAS SELAMAT Caught while sleeping

May 9, 2009

MAS SELAMAT'S CAPTURE

Caught while sleeping

		Fugitive terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari was apparently apprehended when he was asleep in a hut, and barely put up a struggle when caught.

MAS Selamat Kastari, one of the region's most wanted terrorists, was nabbed while he was asleep in a secluded kampung house in Skudai, Johor, The Star reported on Saturday.

He could barely put up a struggle in his shorts and T-shirt when he was caught during a dawn raid on April 1.

The Jemaah Islamiah leader of the Singapore chapter, who had a S$1 million bounty on his head, had been living the life of a simple villager, without arousing the suspicions of residents there,said The Star.

Skudai, 25 km north-west of Johor Baru and near Senai Airport, is a sprawling working-class town in Johor that many Singaporeans frequent for its giant supermarket.

Malaysia's official news agency Bernama, quoting a Special Branch source, said Mas Selamat has relatives in Skudai.

About 15 km away from the town, across the North-South highway, is Ulu Tiram, another small town but notorious for being a breeding ground for Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorists.

The Star said Malaysian Special Branch officers had been working on various leads since March and, upon confirming his whereabouts, planned the dawn raid that resulted in his arrest.

Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan Musa on Friday said the arrest was made possible as police in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia had been sharing intelligence reports over the past year.

'We have been in contact with our international counterparts who were informed about the arrest as well as what we have gathered from Mas Selamat since his arrest last month. Our officers are still investigating his activities and networking,' he said at a press conference.

Mas Selamat has been on the run since he escaped a maximum security detention centre in Whitley Road on Feb 27 last year, by climbing out through a toilet window, and eluded a massive manhunt launched by Singapore authorities. He fled to the northern part of Singapore before swimming across to Johor.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28568.48

SEX EDUCATION: Practise reason, fairness in re-evaluating modules

May 9, 2009
SEX EDUCATION
Practise reason, fairness in re-evaluating modules

I REFER to Thursday's letter, 'Why MOE suspended Aware project'. I understand and applaud the cautious stance of the Ministry of Education (MOE) in response to public feedback.

Although I realise it is preferable to allow programmes that 'adhere to the social norms and values' of society, I also believe education must inform, sometimes against public opinion. I hope the suspension is not a knee-jerk reaction that will move us backwards.

The Aware event has allowed homosexuality and the opinions people hold about the issue to be discussed openly. Any future move should not ignore this step forward that has been taken.

I hope that MOE, in its re-evaluation of the sexual education modules by Aware and other vendors, will practise reason and fairness.

Homosexuality as a condition exists in both the human world and the animal kingdom. The reasons for its existence are not clear, just as no scientist is clear why flowers bloom in different colours. Whether it is a negative or positive condition is subject to beliefs that can originate from an individual's cultural and religious background. These beliefs should not be allowed to colour the science or deny the existence of homosexuality.

It is essential information our children and youth are already aware of, have questions about and some inevitably wrestle with.

A reasonable, non-biased and progressive education system should not promote homosexuality; nor should it deny or present only the negative aspects of it.

To do anything less is to rob our children and youth of their right to full information and knowledge, and this will have negative ramifications for their lives and their interactions with others who are different in society.

Alicia Wong (Ms)

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28486.43

Suspension of Aware programme sends wrong message

Suspension of Aware programme sends wrong message

I READ with great concern the Ministry of Education's statement regarding the suspension of Aware's Comprehensive Sexuality Education programme.

The programme was based on material put together by leading international academics, health workers and medical experts working with the International Women's Health Coalition. As such, it is a document reflecting some of the most recent research on women's health, reproductive and gender issues worldwide. Singaporean counsellors, social workers, law enforcement officers, parents and teachers have attested to the value and importance of Aware's programme for our youth today.

The suspension of the programme is a step in the wrong direction and sends a message that as a society, we are not prepared to stand up for the facts as established by authoritative medical and social work groups when social pressure is strong. Surely, this is not the signal we want to send, both to groups in Singapore and also to the international community to which Singapore belongs.

Alexandra Serrenti (Ms)

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28486.42

Aware: 2nd suspicious envelope

May 8, 2009

Aware saga

2nd suspicious envelope

By Sujin Thomas
		The envelope was delivered to the Church of Our Saviour in Margaret Drive just over a week ago. -- ST PHOTO; SHAHRIYA YAHAYA

FOR a second time, an envelope containing a suspicious substance was sent to a party involved in the Aware saga.

The envelope was delivered to the Church of Our Saviour in Margaret Drive just over a week ago.

Staff members who opened the envelope found light brown granules inside and immediately called the police, said a church spokesman.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman told The Straits Times that hazardous material (Hazmat) specialists were called in to examine the contents, which were later found to be non-hazardous.

The Anglican church had been in the news recently as a result of the leadership dispute in the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware).

During the saga, it was revealed that six members who took over the organisation's executive committee after a shock election result on March 28 attended the church, which is known to take a strong stand on homosexuality.

The church spokesman said of the incident: 'We were concerned but never alarmed.'

The incident came on the back of a similar one on April 14 - a day before DBS Bank executive Josie Lau, 48, was appointed the new president of Aware.

That day, an envelope landed in the mailbox of the organisation's office in Dover Crescent.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.199

Capture of Mas Selamat: Singapore Muslims relieved

May 9, 2009

Capture of Mas Selamat

S'pore Muslims relieved

		'Now that Mas Selamat has been caught, a sense of relief is as much felt by the Malay community as by the community at large.' said Mr Masagos. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

THE re-arrest of Mas Selamat Kastari in Johor, where he sought shelter while on the run, vindicates the Singapore Muslim community's stand that they have no sympathy for those who plot violence in the name of Islam, several leaders of the community said on Saturday.

After the Jemaah Islamiah regional leader escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre in February last year, there was suspicion among some that he might be harboured by sympathisers here.

Mr Abdul Mutalif Hashim, the chairman of the Darussalam Mosque in Clementi, said that for as long as he was on the run, some suspicion lingered over Muslims here.

'I feel very relieved now, as that assumption did not help race relations,' he said.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Education, stressed that the Malay-Muslim community was just as alarmed as other Singaporeans were over Mas Selamat's escape.

'Now that Mas Selamat has been caught, a sense of relief is as much felt by the Malay community as by the community at large.

'This reflects the fact that the Malay-Muslim community is mature and rational and understands that whatever threatens the nation is also a threat to them, and therefore, we are as single-minded about how we need to address and look at the threat of terrorism,' he said.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28568.90