Mas Selamat bin Kastari (born 23 January 1961), an Indonesian-born Singaporean, is Singapore’s most-wanted terror fugitive who escaped from detention on 27 February 2008. The search for him has been described as the largest manhunt ever launched in Singapore. He was allegedly the head of the Singapore branch of militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI).
Singapore authorities have alleged that he planned to crash seven bomb-filled trucks at various locations around the city-state. In January 2006, Mas Selamat was arrested by Indonesian anti-terror squads in Java and deported to Singapore. He was suspected of plotting to bomb Singapore Changi Airport in 2002, and, according to the Singapore Police Force, he had initially planned to do so by crashing a plane into the airport. However, Mas Selamat has never been formally charged with any terrorism-related offences; instead, he was detained under the country’s Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
His escape from Whitley Road Detention Centre was a huge surprise to the region. What was once the image of a well-organised government machinery, is now shattered, undoing Singapore’s stellar history as a country that prides itself on impeccable crisis management (think 2003 SARS outbreak), and well executed hosting of global events like the IMF 06 and the IOC conference 05.
Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng acknowledged that a security lapse led to his escape, and that everything was being done to recapture Mas Selamat. Reactions to the escape were filled with surprise and disbelief in what Western observers describe as a country where “security breaches are virtually unheard of.” It brought serious embarrassment to the Singapore government, and many questions were raised by the public. The local media has been largely stifled in its probe for answers and disgruntled Singaporeans took their views to the internet, to citizen communities like yawningbread.org where opinions have been free flowing since.
Mas Selamat is at present, a fugitive and still at large. The island-wide blitz of posters and mugshots serves a reminder that Singapore still is far from being infallible.
