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We have not forgotten about Mas Selamat , or have we really?

Mar 25, '08 9:39 AM
for everyone

How long has it been already, 26 days? Yet no traces of Mas Selamat. Oh oh however, they have caught another of his counterpart. ALLEDGEDLY REPORTED to be the future leader of Jemaah Islamiya and detained without trial, Rijal Yadri bin Jumari has been schooled in madrasahs operated by JI abroad. He has also been said to have trained in Afganistan and met Osama bin Laden. Personally I highly question the bit of information about him ever meeting Osama bin Laden. What, you think that bin Laden is so free and trusting to meet a small pea like Rijal Yadri (maybe I am wrong)? Well good for the home team if they have really caught yet another terrorist but I will not call this new captive as such because he has been detained without a trial. Same thing goes for Mas Selamat. However here are two questions that have been ringing well in my mind...

1. Where is Mas Selamat?
2. How is the 'independent investigation' progressing?
3. 10 years down the road, will we be talking about how we have caught Mas Selamat or still questioning the government and developing more and more conspiracy theories on the issue?

Coincidentally he was caught and detained in February, the same month that Mas Selamat's great escape occured. They only announced this piece of news on Sunday. Why so late (yet again) and why after the escape of Mas Selamat (I am assuming that he was caught before the escape)? Well I cannot help but wonder if such an escape had not taken place, will they even bother to announce the news of the new captive. Maybe not. Or maybe, Mas Selamat's escape has got something to do with the capture, maybe it is a deal (the mad conspiracy function has suddenly been switched on!). Hahahaa who knows? Nothing is really a surprise anymore when it comes to politics.

Actually I am also wondering how Mas Selamat's family is taking the news that he has suddenly disappeared. Has anyone bothered to ask for their opinions? Well they probably were not entitled the right to have any, since they are related to someone who has been accused of being a terrorist head. The total silence from the Mas Selamat Kastari camp has been forced and I wonder what will happen if someone actually bothers to visit them to find out how they are doing. I think they should sue the government. Does anyone know if that is possible? Well afterall they detained Mas Selamat without a trial and then lost him so they should ideally have a cause right? He has not been formally proven to be a terrorist afterall.

I wonder if this Rijal Yadri is for real.

Hey and you can now add Mas Selamat on Facebook! Woooohoooooo!

My 2 cents worth of conclusion:

The 1st cent - The government should seriously hire a better person to write their wayang script. Reviving Joseph Goebbels from the grave might well do the trick. Either that or they should start providing more background information for the press to publish. A report too general will get people like me to fill in the blanks and spin out lovely alternatives hahahaa.

The 2nd cent - What gives the government the right to detain someone without a trial? China does that to her 'dissident journalists' and we see it as unfair and unjust but here in Singapore, we are doing it to certain 'political criminals' as well. The families of Mas Selamat and Rijal Yadri should publicly challenge the government with regards to their accusations (of course in the governmentally approved, 'peaceful' and 'logical' way) so that a trial can be conducted. So must the public start to question the justification of labelling and detaining someone as a terrorist. Afterall where there is no evidence and prove, there is no wrong and worth (regarding accusations).

Read also:

Another JI member detained under ISA

Man plotting JI revival caught

Detained: JI member who trained with Al - Qaeda

Bus driver jailed 21 months for giving false leads on Mas Selamat

Another alledged JI member detained... but where is Mas Selamat?

Improving the Internal Security Act

Singapore vely the effishen - lost one JI tellolist, capture anudder one

So, is anyone going to donate 2 cents into the Help Rachel Get Out of Singapore to be a Foreign Talent Fund? Hahahaaa...

Update (27 March 2008):

A replacement for Singapore's Most Wanted

One month after escape - questions still unanswered

Search for Mas Selamat to be more focused, targeted: minister

Old checkpoint reopened to ease causeway traffic

In the spirit of giving a "full account"

How long more are we going to wait?

Update (28 March 2008):

Only hear the good stuff

TVD's picks: Wong Kan Seng's Tora Bora Remix

Prev: How can one underestimate the power of Singlish?
Next: In response to all the talks about improving the quality of child care centres in Singapore

10 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded

suicidalcoholica wrote on Mar 25, '08

I was actually thinking about this during lunch. It seems that the brouhaha of his escape is starting to wear thin. The news no longer talks about it neither does the press. I forsee that all the Wanted posters might just disappear overnight one day!!

MSK on Facebook is rather hilarious though. XD

rachelabsinthe wrote on Mar 25, '08, edited on Mar 25, '08

Oh did you look closely at the fella serving you at Botak Jones? That could well be MSK in disguise! Mwahahahhaaaa :P

There is a poster by the notice board for parents in the school I am working at and I walk past it everyday, it hardly exists anymore. The government needs to come up with something new lah!

suicidalcoholica wrote on Mar 25, '08

I think the gahment is trying to wait out the storm of public scrutiny under their beds.

Oh yeah that guy, he tabao my food even though I was sitting there with cutlery and the sauces bottle in front of me. Drats.

seelanpalay wrote on Mar 26, '08

Hey Rachel, Seelan Palay here. I would to invite you to a political film screening this Saturday, would you mind emailing me - seelanpalay@gmail.com

feedmetothefish wrote on Mar 26, '08

Hi Rachel,
I have been watching the local wayang for 50 years since I was a kid at 7. I must say it's 'same shit, different time'! I like your take on the comparison between Ching Cheong of ST (accused in China) and Mas Selamat (accused in S'pore). Guess it's the same shit again, "If you're not with me. you're with the terrorists!"

What's terrorism anyway? If the definition is "achieving your political goals without any concern for the loss of lives and sufferings of innocents" then the Jihadists are not the only ones. The innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan are the victims of another form of terrorism. If we take a step further, Mr Chia Thye Poh was a victim of terrorism. He was terrorized for 31 years of his life?

Don't you love the latest spin at http://www.mha.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=1188?

Well, only a first world minister can come up with such a lovely spin still hold on to his million $,$$$,$$$ job. Yes, even after the team has screwed up big time!

Talk is so damn cheap! If there's meritocracy, this blighter would have been sacked! We are still listening to him singing song and talking cock.

And I thought Wong Can't Sing.

Regards,
http://feedmetothefish.blogspot.com/

rachelabsinthe wrote on Mar 26, '08, edited on Mar 26, '08

Heya feedmetothefish,

It is always the same ol' shit really and it is sickening to even watch/ hear any more of such news. The story of Mr. Chia was heart breaking to read when I came across it sometime last year. It also made me very angry as I progressed more into the article I was reading. I have always believed that no one has any rights to detain anyone without a public trial and evidence(s) of any wrong doing. It is simply disgusting.

Grr and that was such a bloody lovely spin, he should really just go before he gets more things messed up than they already are. Why the fuck are they still paying him and having him around I wonder, for the purpose of an obedient scapegoat? Probably and I wouldn't be surprised if this is true.

His song is terrible, seriously. His wayang is even worse.

(Mo mak tai ah alamak!)

I shake my head everytime I pay any form of tax.

Cheers,
Rach

secretblogger wrote on Mar 27, '08

I happen to be a representative of a certain uniformed organization tasked to search for him.
It is all a great big lie to me.A waste of time too.
Watched the news yesterday,they said that they believed he's still in Singapore and would narrow down their search for him to specific areas based on specific intelligence.
Hah,what intelligence do we have I wonder?
We're all having serious doubts now.
They've searched every forest,vacant and abandoned buildings and even the drains and yet there's still no sign of him.
They've deployed armed forces all along the shores of Singapore.
The SAF,SPF,PCG,whatever.

To be honest,this whole Mas Selamat story reminds me of the movie,The Siege,especially the part where a terror suspect was interrogated,tortured and killed.Who knows,maybe amongst all that wild speculation and theories,one may be true.

rachelabsinthe wrote on Mar 27, '08

Well they can keep telling themselves as well as the public that he is still in Singapore but he might have escaped the borders long before they informed the public. Also, with the little information that we know (is knowing actually knowing?), how can we be sure that such a character actually exists and how can we be sure that he is really such a dangerous man as described? No trial, no evidence, no words from the family either. How sure are we that the government is not taking us for fools as they spin their lousy fiction upon us and expect us to be contented with all of that? So many questions but no answers. Yet we still have to pay our taxes.

suicidalcoholica wrote on Mar 27, '08

rachelabsinthe said

(is knowing actually knowing?)

There's always 3 versions to the Truth:

Our version
Their version
The Truth itself.

Cheers

rachelabsinthe wrote on Mar 27, '08

suicidalcoholica said

There's always 3 versions to the Truth:

Our version
Their version
The Truth itself.

Cheers

Very true indeed!

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