In my opinion, I think that this is not really an issue of national security , but more of a social issue. On one hand, Mas Selamat Kastari, being the leader of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah poses a very large threat to the community and our relatively peaceful nation of Singapore if he is left to his own ways. There are countless possibilities: he could, given time, gather his members and launch terrorist attacks such as suicide bombers or even plant booby traps to cause mayhem in crowded areas. That is, if we discount the public in helping out as well.
Right now, this wanted man has escaped and is currently still at large; we cannot deny this fact. What we can deny, however, is any possible escape route or glimmer of hope that shines for this criminal. As of now, he is completely cut off from the outside world, left without any resources whatsoever. Effectively, he is alone. If he were to be able to steal a cell phone, or even one dollar to make an international call, it would be tantamount to handing him a lifeline. Therefore, by upping our guard, not just one person, but the entire nation, we will be able to form an inescapable nationwide lock down. So what if he escaped from a detention center? Can he escape the eyes, ears and and noses of the nation's ultimate watchdogs, the citizens?
Mas Selamat's face has been pasted on every notice board in Singapore, sent to every mobile phone and every newspaper and news bulletin for the past few days. Normally, people (especially Singaporeans) would jump at receiving this much attention, but not him. It just means awareness has gone up another notch and there's nothing much he can do to stop this. Now, he cannot even go to a coffee-shop to order kopi-o.
With that in mind, I hope to appeal to all who read this blog (if any...) to bear in mind: keep a vigilant lookout for this man.
But we of course cannot overlook the media's part in this affair. Writers that write the newspaper articles, reporters that update the public periodically, and as Saturday's papers have written, media in other countries have also been alerted of Mas Selamat's escape. No matter what the world will think of Singapore, only the citizens know best.
