SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore should brace for an attack if an alleged extremist leader who escaped from custody has fled the city-state and rejoined his comrades, elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew warned Saturday.

A massive manhunt is underway for Mas Selamat bin Kastari, the alleged Singapore head of Jemaah Islamiyah blamed for the Bali bombings, who escaped from a detention centre in the city-state on February 27. Interpol has also issued an international red alert for Kastari who escaped after he was allowed to use the toilet during a visit from his relatives.

Lee, Singapore's founding father, said officials must ensure that Kastari remained in the country and did not flee to Indonesia where he can tap into his support network and plot an attack. "Keep him in Singapore and he can do not much harm because he needs explosives, needs to get a plan, mount it, get people to execute the plan and that is easier done in Indonesia than in Singapore," Lee was quoted as saying in the Straits Times newspaper.

"So if he can get into Indonesia, he has his old networks, then we have to watch out for a return hit some time." Kastari, 47, was accused of plotting to hijack a plane in order to crash it into Singapore's busy Changi Airport in 2001, but was never charged in court.

Until his escape, he was being held under an internal security law which allows for detention without trial. Lee, Singapore's former prime minister and now a senior adviser in the cabinet, said Kastari's guards may have become complacent after he won them over. "So we are dealing with a smart man," he said.

Police have said they believe Kastari was still in Singapore, and have plastered the island with his pictures. Security analysts say he is likely to make a dash for Indonesia and link up with other leaders JI leaders.

The Southeast Asia-based group is blamed for a string of attacks in the region, including the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists. Lee said the escape also showed that Singapore, a staunch US ally known for tough security measures against possible terror attacks, was not infallible.

"It shows that it is a fallacy, it is stupid to believe we are infallible," he told the newspaper and other Singapore media at the end of a visit to the Gulf region in the Middle East. "We are not infallible. One mistake and we've got a big explosive in our midst. So let's not take this lightly."

The escape "was not very good" for the international reputation of Singapore's security services, he said.

(AFP) – Mar 8, 2008

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