The shocking revelation that
Orchard MRT station was a target for terrorists serves as a
chilling reminder that we cannot take our security here in
Singapore for granted.
The Straits Times reports that the station
was circled on a map found in the home of terror suspect,
Ahmah Sayid Maulana, who was killed in a raid in East Jakarta
last Wednesday.
According to a senior Indonesian police investigator, the
terrorists intended to enter Singapore through Malaysia, with
RM11,517 (S$4,980) found in the house as well.
A Home Affairs Ministry spokesman said a team was
currently in Jakarta to discuss the findings with the Indonesian
police.
The chilling discovery comes 9 years after
another plot
to set off bombs at Yishun MRT was uncovered. That Jemaah Islamiyah
plan targeted U.S. personnel and families who
frequently travelled between the station and Sembawang
Wharf.
Although Maulana is dead, it’s believed he still has
associates, with possible connections to terror cells in Malaysia,
or even Singapore.
Just days before, a plot
to assassinate Indonesian President,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other top government
officials, was thwarted after police raids in
northern Sumatra and around Jakarta took down 13 suspected
militants and resulted in 71 arrests.
Terrorism expert Dr John Harrison said terrorists commonly
target mass transportation systems in order to inflict greater
damage, and that the “Singapore transportation system has been, and
will always be high-value target.”
So the next time you see that ad on MRT
platforms warning about suspicious strangers or
packages, don’t laugh or snigger.
It only takes one time for our guard to be let down for untold
tragedy to occur.
Source:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/05/19/orchard-mrt-attack/
