Mas Selamat is back ... terrorism problem has not gone away

Troublemaker

Mas Selamat escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27, 2008.

But following close cooperation between the security agencies in Malaysia and Singapore, the Malaysian Special Branch re-arrested him in Johor on April 1 last year and detained him under Malaysia's Internal Security Act.

The MHA conveyed its appreciation to its Malaysian counterparts, the Malaysian Special Branch and the Special Task Force for their help with the arrest and repatriation of Mas Selamat to Singapore.

Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in an SMS to Channel NewsAsia: "The release is based on a mutual understanding between both countries and the agencies involved. Both governments and the relevant security agencies felt the time was right. He is after all from Singapore. It shows the level of confidence and co-operation between the two countries is high especially on security issues." MORE

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the terror threat has not gone away even though Singapore's most wanted terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari is back in Singapore's custody.

Mr Lee also stressed that Mas Selamat's return to Singapore was not part of recent discussions on the Points of Agreement (POA) with Malaysia.

"Now that we have got him back, I think we continue to need the support of Singaporeans to tackle the question of extremist terrorism and keep Singapore a safe society. The problem hasn't gone away. Mas Selamat is one but there are others out there in the region around us," said Mr Lee. MORE