Singapore Government Confirms Arrest of Mas Selamat

ChannelNewsAsia ran this story on 8 May 2009:

Singapore government confirms arrest of Mas Selamat
By Asha Popatlal

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government has confirmed the arrest of fugitive Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari who escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre more than a year ago.

In a statement on Friday, Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said: "Mas Selamat has been arrested by the Malaysian Special Branch (MSB) in a joint operation between the MSB and the Internal Security Department (ISD)."

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said Singapore is happy that Mas Selamat has been arrested.

Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) had worked hard and looked at every lead, sharing information with its Malaysian counterpart.

Mr Wong, who was speaking to reporters at the Home Affairs Ministry on Friday, added that the Malaysian Special Branch has done excellent work.

Both parties have a longstanding cordial relationship which resulted in the arrest of Mas Selamat on April 1.

For now, the JI leader will remain in Malaysia as the authorities there want to continue interviewing him.

The deputy prime minister said Singaporeans must maintain vigilance and not let their guard down following Mas Selamat's arrest as the terror threat is real and Singapore is a prime target.

With Singapore's long coastline, Mr Wong said Singaporeans must not assume the country is safe as there are other JI members who have not been detained.

He said Mas Selamat will be sent to the Whitley Road Detention Centre again when he is brought back to Singapore.

Mr Wong added that the centre is now a different place compared to what it was when the JI leader escaped on February 27 last year.

He also revealed that Mas Selamat had used an improvised flotation device to escape from the north shore of Singapore to Johor Bahru.

Separately, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said the arrest of Mas Salamat is a welcome piece of news to Singaporeans.

He said the JI leader's arrest speaks highly of security forces involved in the operation.

"It's a tribute to the professionalism of the intelligence agencies. They worked across borders with their partners to secure his eventual arrest."