The manhunt is over!

KUALA LUMPUR: Thirteen months after his audacious escape from detention in Singapore, Mas Selamat Kastari has been caught in Malaysia.

Singapore’s most wanted terrorist was captured on April 1 while hiding in Johor, regional intelligence sources told The Straits Times.

It is believed that he was nabbed in the outskirts of Johor Baru and is now being held by the Malaysian authorities for interrogation.

It is not known how he slipped out of Singapore or when he entered Malaysia.

Although he was arrested six weeks ago, the Malaysian authorities have not yet announced the capture.

A senior Malaysian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest and said that Mas Selamat was being held under the country’s Internal Security Act.

He declined to say when the terrorist would be handed over to the Singapore authorities.

It is believed that the fugitive had stayed in Johor all this time and had not travelled further north. He is also believed to be detained in Johor.

Sources told The Straits Times that the 48-year-old was tracked down based on intelligence provided by Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD), and a joint operation by Malaysia and Singapore’s security agencies eventually led to his arrest.

The capture of Mas Selamat brings to an end one of the largest manhunts ever undertaken by Singapore and its neighbours for a terrorist on the run.

The manhunt for Mas Selamat Kastari is over! I expect the speculations and conspiracy theories to begin anew and there are indeed questions left unasked and unanswered. Like how he was caught, what intel was shared, was he really in SG, how long he was in Johor, did he get help and if so who helped him, why make the news now when he was caught 6 weeks ago, among other questions. I trust the news fronts to have more info as the days progress.

As is reported, the Malaysian authorities still have him under custody for questioning and it’s only a matter of time before he is extradited. It is good that such a joint operation is possible and even successful and bodes well for our current and future relationships with friendly intelligence and government agencies, especially with Malaysia and Indonesia. It’s only right that we also share intelligence and that that can be gleaned from interrogation.

On the home front, I trust our agencies not to screw up like this again, and I believe if anything, we Singaporeans never cock up twice.  The monkey is finally off the proverbial back and I am frankly glad that this embarrassing saga is finally behind us. Us as this is not only a security or intelligence issue, it is a national issue as it cuts right into the heart of the capabilities and reputations of Singapore both local and abroad. The questions by my foreign friends I’ve personally tried to tackle have left me embarrassed and somewhat humiliated and it’s indeed a monkey off my back.

There could also be a silver lining to this episode, in that his escape and evasion could have been assisted and his arrest would help uncover an erstwhile unknown support network both here and in Malaysia.

And there is also of course the matter of the $1million reward…

Jaded

In the popular syndicated comic Foxtrot, Jason Fox the nerdy genius younger brother presents a perfect-score math test to his mom and gets a pat on the head for a good job done. Then Paige Fox, Jason’s older and not-so-smart teen sister presents to their mom a math test score that while not spectacular, was a decent score. Paige gets rewarded with a substantial prize despite Jason’s protests. Mom replies that while Jason does a good job with his repeated perfect scores, Paige’s higher score took more effort and therefore should be rewarded.

In another strip, Eileen Jacobson is a schoolmate of Jason’s and Jason frequently tutors her in math. In one rare occasion, Jason is in for a rude shock as Eileen actually outscored Jason in a math test. Eileen doesn’t think it that dumbfounding preferring to enjoy her good math score while Jason repeatedly wails upon Eileen for beating him and gets upset.

Alas as Foxtrot by Bill Amend is syndicated, there are no online archives. Pictures speak volumes as they say. Both these 2 strips “illustrate” how when people routinely or frequently experience a similar event or result, they end up jaded to the experience. Much like eating lots of chili or watching lots of porn, you need more to get that same previous high.

In a premise of repeated success (like Jason Fox with his mom or Eileen), it is not the repeated success that garners attention, rather it is the exact opposite that does. Any event outside the usual excellence is that that receives the undue attention, when logic would suggest that while the aberrations should not be ignored, the repeated successes shouldn’t similarly be ignored too.

When Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from WRDC, Singapore and the world reeled in shock, dumbfounded that a city-state replete with number ones and sterling global achievements could commit such a boo-boo. MM Lee says it was complacency that resulted in the confluence of events that led to MSK’s escape. While I agree with MM Lee’s general assessment, I feel that it is jadedness that ultimately answers the nation’s reaction to this episode, especially the reactions of its critics.

This failure has gripped the nation, with special COI hearings, trifecta investigations, media reports, parliamentary statements, calls for heads to roll, calls for accountability, etc. It is interesting to note that in today’s current affairs climate, Singaporean successes are usually passed off in a small media article box, or panned as MSM propaganda bullshit. Singaporeans in the 60s and 70s lauded the successes of Singapore as back then, actual achievements from a small island with literally no hope were hard to come by. And we celebrated them. Today, successes come so fast and furious that we simply ignore them and instead focus on the aberrations, the failures.

Yes, we must not forget the failures, not only MSK’s escape but the failures over the years like the Nicoll Highway collapse, the NKF scandal, Nick Leeson, etc. In all these examples, there must be accountability, we the citizens of Singapore must be allowed to know the story as it unfolded and ultimately someone must be held responsible. But lest us not forget the successes. Why are we not using the same fine-tooth comb to sift through our successes, the same comb we’re using on our failures? Our commandoes topping foreign military schools, weathering the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis, weathering the SARS epidemic, keeping the SGD high against foreign currencies to stave off inflation, a generally high-valued currency from a small nation-state, a 1st-world class per-capita GDP, the JI arrests, stopping a plot to crash a plane into Changi, the world’s busiest container port, winning the right to host the first ever Youth Olympics, winning the right to enter the F1 Grand Prix circuit and its first night race at that, hosting the OIC and Ministerial Summit, restaging a successful Singapore Airshow, etc.

The individuals directly responsible for MSK’s escape are truly complacent or even incompetent, I trust they will receive their due punishment. But we as a nation have become jaded to our successes.

http://www.newsintercom.org/index.php?itemid=588

Beware the instigators…

It is week 1 of the Mas Selamat Kastari escape and the dragnet has been flung far and wide. Media reports are fast and furious with its usual “nation building” headlines. The conspiracy theories, accusations and calls for blood have also been equally fast and furious.

The numerous conspiracy theories I’ve read tickle me at first, but trouble me as well. Some of the stuff being bandied around include:

: That Mas Selamat was tortured and murdered in prison; the escape was merely a well-orchestrated media hoopla event to cover up the incident.
: That heads must roll, including the head of the DPM and Home Minister Wong Kan Seng.
: That the lack of official word from the Police and ISD suggests a blackout and coverup.
: That a limping man could not have possibly escaped a high-security prison, therefore there must have been help.
: That Mas Selamat has ceased being useful as he was uncooperative during interrogation; instead of releasing him, ISD engineered this show to “dispose” of him.
: Prank calls, bomb hoaxes, “sabo-ing” your neighbour just cuz you didn’t like the smell, and the like.

Some of the above are in my mind truly creative. Personally, the #1 concern for me is to capture him while he’s still in Singapore. Everything else can wait including the calls for heads to roll and blood to be spilt. Let’s get him first, then worry about the rest?

I hate to draw a parallel with Hollywood, but those who watched Prison Break the drama serial, would know that when Michael Scofield engineered the daring prison break with a few other inmates, the first and most important task was to find and arrest the escapees. It was only much later that the “collateral damage” was assessed and the prison warden Pope and the prison doctor Sara were blamed and sacked.

If you’re dumb enough to make prank calls or waste the Police’s time with your own petty agendas, you’re a bloody idiot. If you’re truly stupid to make bomb hoaxes, rest assured the full extent of the law will be thrown at you and you’d have deserved it.

Frankly, if I were ISD and wanted to get rid of Kastari, I would have done it quietly and none would be the wiser; if it needed to be known I would have just passed it off as “suicide” or “sickness”. Come on man, before this incident did we even know of this man’s existence or that he was arrested by the ISD for being the JI chief? Many of us don’t even register the faces and names of the arrested JI members. Do the ISD really need to put on this show if they needed to be rid of him?

Do we really truly want Singapore to fall or for Singaporeans to get blown up by terrorist bombs? I suspect there will be certain people amongst us who wish Singapore ill and we must be level-headed enough to see that and not fall for such traps. As much as we spew vitriol and hatred about PAP policies and the like, I struggle to believe there would be true-blue Singaporeans who are glad Mas Kastari escaped and could potentially cause us harm.

Beware the instigators…

http://www.newsintercom.org/index.php?itemid=576