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.
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.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
