MSK was caught in an area known to be a breeding ground for JI -
it looks as if the breeding ground continue to exist to breed new
threats.
HIDEOUT NEAR JI BREEDING GROUND
KUALA LUMPUR: - While he was on the run, Mas Selamat Kastari found
refuge in Skudai, a sprawling working-class town in Johor that many
Singaporeans frequent for its Giant supermarket.
Malaysia's official news agency Bernama yesterday quoted a Special
Branch source as saying Singapore's most-wanted terrorist was
caught in the town, which is 25km north-west of Johor Baru and near
Senai Airport. 'He has relatives in Skudai,' said the
source.
About 15km away, across the North-South highway, is Ulu Tiram,
another small town but notorious for being a breeding ground for
Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorists.
A defunct religious school which groomed JI agents is located in
the area, a place familiar to Mas Selamat, a JI leader of the
Singapore terror network, as he spent time there some time in the
1990s.
Yesterday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters that
the fugitive managed to enter Malaysia 'a few days' after escaping
from the Whitley Road Detention Centre in Singapore.
His capture had taken place around the same time that the Malaysian
authorities had nabbed three other people for suspected JI-linked
activities.
They arrested Agus Salim, a 32-year-old Indonesian, on March 5, and
two Malaysians, Abdul Matin Anol Rahmat, 60, and Johar Hassan, on
April 1.
While the authorities yesterday refused to confirm if the three
were linked to Mas Selamat, the timing of the arrests has raised
speculation over whether all four were collaborating with one
another in the alleged terror plot.
Mas Selamat was also nabbed on April 1 and the Star daily
yesterday, quoting sources, said Malaysia's Special Branch had been
on his trail for a month.
The Abolish ISA Movement, a group which calls for the Malaysian
government to repeal the ISA, said Abdul Matin is the father-in-law
of ex-ISA detainee Zaini Zakaria who was released late last
year.
Mr Zaini, a suspected JI member, was an engineer allegedly
recruited by Al-Qaeda to pilot a plane in a second wave of Sept
11-style attacks on the United States.
He was supposed to have travelled to in Afghanistan in 1999 and met
senior figures in Al-Qaeda. He had a licence to fly a small plane
but severed his ties with Al-Qaeda after he saw media coverage of
the Sept 11 attacks, said reports.
Agus Salim was a cook in a restaurant at Larkin, Johor. According
to reports here, his arrest was captured on video by the police,
raising questions about whether Mas Selamat's arrest was also
captured on video.
Abdul Matin was apprehended by 12 policemen in an operation around
7.30pm on April 1 in Johor Baru, said Chinese publication Merdeka
Review in an April 17 report.
There has been no information on Johar Hassan.
Sources told The Straits Times that the trail that led to the
arrests of Abdul Matin and Johar on April 1 also led to the capture
of Mas Selamat on the same night.
At a press conference yesterday, Malaysian Home Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein said Mas Selamat 'was planning something which
allows us to arrest him'.
He declined to elaborate, including on when the fugitive would be
handed over to Singapore, adding: 'I can't go into the details, it
is too sensitive...This is something that I don't want to
jeopardise.'
