Local and international press today reports that the ISA detainee Mas Selamat Kastari has escaped from the Internal Security Department's (ISD) Whitley Road Detention Centre yesterday afternoon.

When I saw his picture on the silent gym TV last night, I thought he had died or was executed or something like that and didn't give much thought to it. Imagine my surprise when I read on BBC News today that he had escaped.

This leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is alleged to have been a part of plans to attack the US Embassy along Napier Road, the American Club along Scotts Road, MINDEF HQ at Bukit Gombak and the Education Ministry building in North Buona Vista Drive. He was also said to have been the mastermind behind plans to hijack an airplane in Bangkok and crash it into Changi airport (http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_211177.html). These are some majorly serious charges and obviously he's someone who could really be intent on causing serious damage, carnage and mayhem.

Apparently Mas, who was born in Indonesia, supposedly has the power to hypnotise people. As a friend said, "Indos strong religious ones tend to have these inner unorthodox power". Whether you believe that is true or not is up to you. However it's not surprising as pre-Islamic belief in the supernatural is still very strong in the Indonesian archipelago. How interesting, politics and terrorism with an added dash of the supernatural.

"You... will... release... me..."
"Yessss... masssssterrrr..."
"Woo! Hoo!! I'm free! Free! FREE!!! MUUAH... HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!!"

Well, it looks like someone or some people from ISD is going to get canned pretty soon. I wonder if he had help (internal or external) with his escape or he simply found an opening and took advantage of it. I can just imagine a getaway car waiting for him with some ladies in the niqab (which covers the entire body and face) and a spare one for him to put on.

The police and SAF soldiers are now in the midst of an island wide manhunt for him. I don't know whether they will succeed or not. He'll most probably be hiding out in the home of a supporter or sympathiser before making an explosive debut. Or if what one of my friends said is right, he has probably crossed the waters to either Johor or the Riau islands where his "brothers" are waiting to receive him with open arms.

I seriously doubt if JI has been disbanded. They were probably weakened by the string of arrests and was lying dormant all this while. But now that Mas their leader is out, things might start to change. And not for the better I'm afraid.

If there was a proper opposition in Singapore's parliament, the minister of home affairs and the PM will definitely get seriously grilled like they do in the UK when some shit (like the lost of CDs containing sensitive government data) hits the fan. In Singapore, they will probably get a slap on their hands with no calls for their resignation.

His picture is available at the links below.

• AsiaOne - SAF soldiers join island-wide manhunt for escaped JI leader
  
• BBC News - Singapore hunts escaped suspect
  
• Channel NewsAsia - JI detainee Mas Selamat Kastari escapes from Singapore detention centre
  
• Straits Times - Massive manhunt

Labels: singapore, terrorism

A day after the ETA detonated a bomb at Madrid's Barajas International Airport, nine bombs went off in Bangkok. Some planted, some were mere grenades dropped into police post from overhead pedestrian bridges.

After all, it's New Year's Eve, a perfect time for carnage and chaos with everybody milling about waiting for the crossing over to a new year.

So far, two has perished while 34 including eight tourists (two British, three Hungarians, two Serbs and an American) are injured.

When I heard the news, I almost shit in my pants. Four of my close friends and other acquaintances were holidaying in Bangkok. SMSes either didn't get through or they didn't answer. So I thought, "Fuck it! Just call them!" Thank god they answered the phone and are fine. It's at times like these that I realise how important my friends are to me; they are almost my family. I was silently freaking out while trying to get in touch with them. Thank God they are fine.

My heart really goes out to the people of Bangkok and the tourists there; they don't deserve this regardless of their political persuasion. They are just ordinary innocent civilians going out and enjoying themselves this New Year's Eve. The perpetrators of this attack are the lowest criminals. Attacking innocent civilians of all people? The muthafuckas should be shot!

Now, the only question is who did it. Is it the "undercurrents" (Thaksin's supporters/sympathisers) as suspected by authorities or are "overcurrents" (separatists in Southern Thailand) to be blamed?

Somehow I think it's the work of the separatists in Southern Thailand. I was kind of expecting this to happen when the violence in the south flared up a few years ago. The only question was when. Now we know.

And do you know what makes this end of the year even more "suay"? Four days ago on Boxing Day, an earthquake hit the coast off Southern Taiwan killing two. Fortunately, there were no tsunami and the only disruptions were collapsed houses and a general slow down in Asia's internet connectivity. And this was exactly two years after the Indian Ocean earthquake which caused a horrific tsunami which killed hundreds of thousands around the region.

BBC News - Bangkok explosions leave two dead

AsiaOne News - Bombs stun Bangkok on New Year's Eve; 2 dead, 34 wounded

Channel NewsAsia - Two dead as New Year blasts rock Thai capital

Labels: terrorism, thailand

Drama in the skies again. Thankfully it was nipped in the butt before planes could start exploding all over the Atlantic. This time round, the weapons of choice are not box cutters but liquid explosives that are almost impossible to detect. (See this scientific report on how it works)

So far, 24 people have been arrested in London, High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire and the West Midlands. Sources say that the main suspects are British-born, with some having links to Pakistan. It has also been revealed that this operation was conducted in tandem with intelligence agencies in Pakistan. Arrests were also made by the authorities there.

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0311H: Presently, chaos reigns at all of UK's airports as flights are cancelled. And of course, share prices have gone down as jittery speculators are selling off their holdings.

BBC News - At-a-glance: UK airports

BBC News - Police probe flights terror plot

Labels: international, terrorism