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| Southeast Asia |
| Mas Selamat considered a major catch |
| 2006-02-09 |
| IN April 2002, Singaporeans first heard Mas Selamat Kastari's name. Then came the wait for the ruthless and hot-tempered Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member to be sent back from Indonesian custody. Terrorism experts say that having him back on home ground might finally throw up new information about the JI terrorist cell in Singapore and its activities. They pointed out that while Mas Selamat was held in Indonesia, the authorities there did not make public any information he may have given them. 'Singapore will be very interested in figuring out about what he knows about possible support or even active JI cells here,' said Dr John Harrison, manager of NTU's International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. 'Even though it's hard to say how much local knowledge he has, he would still be a significant factor if there are any future attacks being planned by remaining JI members.' Dr Harrison, however, said that the government dragnet on JI members has resulted in the group being greatly 'fragmented'. 'Because of this fragmentation, it's not certain if there is still a common control within JI and if so, what kind of influence Mas Selamat has,' said Dr Harrison. And even though the deportation is a coup for authorities here, Mas Selamat's arrest does not have the high-profile significance of Hambali's or suspected JI Indonesia leader and militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir's. Mr Christian Le Miere, Asia editor for defence think-tank Jane's Information Group, believes that whatever information Mas Selamat has is 'questionable'. 'From information that has been released about his activities, he has been fairly independent and his plans do not generally involve the main group,' he said. Mas Selamat was deported back here four days ago and has been put under Internal Security Act arrest. Investigation into his case will now proceed, said the Ministry of Home Affairs. Prior to his arrest, Mas Selamat had wanted to crash a plane - either Singapore, US or British - into Changi Airport. He had also planned to attack US personnel in a shuttle-bus service between Sembawang and Yishun MRT stations. The former head of the JI terrorist cell in Singapore fled the country in December 2001 when the Government began cracking down on JI members. Mas Selamat wanted revenge. He wanted the US to stop its war in Afghanistan. And he was especially angry with the Singapore Government for disrupting the JI cell here and vowed revenge for his captured comrades. While on the run in 2002, he fled to Malaysia, where he met up with Hambali, Al-Qaeda's South-east Asia representative and JI's operational chief. He had also amassed some intelligence material, photographs of the airport and reconnaissance of the radar station at Biggin Hill. Mas Selamat then took four JI members with him to Thailand to hijack a plane from Bangkok. Fortunately, at the 11th hour, the mission was cancelled. It was aborted after an aviation alert and Singaporean authorities stormed the targetted plane. But Mas Selamat was nowhere to be found and so began a massive manhunt for the man some considered to be the most dangerous JI member here. Known for his cunning and calculative moves, Mas Selamat always stayed one step ahead. When police raided his house in Singapore, he deliberately damaged a computer hard disk containing potentially-incriminating evidence. He led the authorities on a wild goose chase all over South-east Asia, from Malaysia to Indonesia. From Medan to Bali to Surabaya, he was careful enough not to stay more than a few months in each place, hopping from island to island discreetly by ferry or bus. On 2 Feb 2003, the search was over. Police nabbed him with his wife and four children - aged 5 to 14 - on a bus in Tanjung Pinang, Bintan. When arrested, The Batam Post reported that he didn't appear nervous. He remained calm and alert even as eager photographers rushed forward to snap his picture. He was put behind bars in Indonesia for 18 months for having false identification documents. Then, he was released and arrested two more times by Indonesian police for having false documents. The last arrest was on 20 Jan when he was visiting his son at a religious school in Java. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |