Risk Professional: Malaysia arrests Singapore's escaped terrorist

The sun-burnt posters at Singapore's borders are testament to the length of time it has taken to find MAS. An embarrassed minister relayed the method of his escape to the Singaporean parliament last year amid groans of disbelief. How could a man, the most wanted terrorist in Singapore's recent history, and who has a made a habit of disappearing and popping up in other countries even whilst under close surveillance, simply walk out of a jail?

For that is what appears to have happened. On his way from his cell to meet visitors, he asked to go to the toilet. Guards let him - and he never came back.

Now, Malaysia has told Singapore that MAS has told them how he got out of Singapore: using what is described as "an improvised floatation device" he swam across the Straights of Johor into Malaysia.

The two countries are separated by a patch of tidal water. Fishing boats potter across it - and so do smugglers.

But it is fairly closely watched from both sides.

And despite the occasional antagonism between Malaysian and Singaporean politicians, the people of the two countries work together with the border providing only nominal hindrance.

And so do the Singaporean Internal Security Department and the Malaysian Special Branch.

Both have unspecified numbers of plain clothes and under-cover operators who are renowned for mixing socially with criminals: and both are known for getting results based upon startlingly accurate intelligence gained through the simple expedient of getting people drunk and talking to them. And both are renowned for being staffed with exceptionally bright officers who are very likeable - so long as you are not who they are looking for.

Malaysia's Special Branch told Singapore about the arrest when MAS was picked up on 1 April. Most surprisingly, perhaps, is that he was picked up in Johor Baru - not far from where he made landfall. Since then, MSB have been questioning him.

And that's fine with Singapore: they have made improved security provisions at the Whitely Centre from where he escaped in late February 2008 and many officers have been dismissed or transferred or have resigned. But they say Malaysia can keep him as long as it wants and to send him back when he's ready.

The immediate effect of MAS's escape was a virtual sealing of Singapore's borders : vehicle traffic across the Causeway to Johor Baru - a 1km bridge along which, prior to MAS's escape many people walked each day - took several hours to clear instead of being a constant flow. Later, all those leaving Singapore were fingerprinted (Singapore plans to build a single database with details of everyone on the island, it was recently announced). The Second Crossing also saw long delays - a rare event for what is generally the smoother of the two cross-Straits journeys.

It's not the first time a foreign government has picked up MAS and sent him to Singapore - in fact Indonesia has done it twice.

MAS is alleged to be a prime mover in the Jemaah Islamiah (aka Jemaah Islamiyah or JI) movement and Singapore says it has evidence that he was involved in a plot to

However, Nigel Morris-Cotterill, Head, The Anti Money Laundering Network (owner of ChiefOfficers.Net) said "There appears to be certain evidence that MAS has been instrumental in the development of a number of plots, particularly in Singapore. However, intelligence gathering - especially in Singapore - has resulted in all his ideas coming to nothing. He is, perhaps, a figurehead rather than a core activist although the fact that he had returned to Johor Baru might suggest he was planning to slip back into Singapore to continue his work. But he does not appear to have a cohesive network ready for action in Singapore: there has been no mass roundup of his contacts and no action by any claiming or suspected to be so.

"This leads me to conclude that the most threat comes not from him but from others still at large outside Singapore and probably outside Malaysia. Having said that, there have been a number of great successes against JI all around the Malaysia - Singapore - Indonesia region and a number of leaders have been taken out of circulation. This does not mean safety: it just means that they are regrouping. The rearrest of MAS is excellent news - but in my view he is a relatively small part of the story. How valuable his arrest is does not depend on his detention but on what intelligence the MSB and ISD can get out of him. And both are very accomplished interregators."

The news of his capture had been kept out of the public eye for more than a month. The official reason was that to inform the public would risk security breaches.