Envelope of white powder meant for senior pastor

Envelope of white powder meant for senior pastor

SCDF confirms powder is not hazardous

By Arul John

May 08, 2009

FIRST, some former Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) exco members received death threats. TARGET? It is not known if Rev Derek Hong's name is on the envelope sent to his church's office. ST FILE PICTURE Now, the senior pastor of the church where six of them attend has also received something that smacks of the anthrax powder scare in the US eight years ago. An envelope containing white powder was sent to the Church of Our Saviour office at Margaret Drive, in Queenstown, last Thursday. The envelope was addressed to the senior pastor of the Anglican church but it was not known if the name of the pastor, Reverend Derek Hong, was indicated. Police spokesman William Goh said church staff alerted the police after receiving the envelope. He said the police and a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) hazardous materials team were then sent to the church. The SCDF team examined the envelope and its contents and found the powder to be non-hazardous, said SCDF public affairs director N Subhas. Police investigations are ongoing. Since 2001, there have been several scares involving white powder worldwide. Fear The fear was that the powder could have been anthrax spores, which can cause death if inhaled. A source said he and a few other people were with Rev Hong several days after the incident when he told them about the envelope. He said RevHong did not say if any letter had accompanied the envelope but thought it was connected to the Aware saga. The source said: 'We were aghast.' The church spokesman told The New Paper that he did not know about the incident but added that RevHong looked all right when he met him yesterday. The discovery of the envelope came amid the tumultuous events surrounding Aware. On 28Mar, a large group of new Aware members attended its annual general meeting and elected a team of unknowns into power. Mrs Claire Nazar, who was elected Aware president, quit after just 11 days in office, and was replaced by Ms Josie Lau. It was later discovered that Ms Lau and several of the new leaders attend the Church of Our Saviour, which takes a strong stand against homosexuality. Senior lawyer Thio Su Mien, who also attends the church, later revealed she had encouraged the women to join Aware because she felt it was promoting lesbianism and homosexuality. On 23Apr, the new Aware leaders said that they and their families had been threatened and even received death threats. They reported them to the police. Ms Lau told the media that a death threat addressed to her husband, Aware affiliate member Alan Chin, and to Aware honorary secretary Jenica Chua, was sent to Aware's office on 14Apr. Many people, including members of the Aware old guard, condemned the death threats. Four days before the church received the envelope, in a sermon on 26Apr, RevHong said the church was against discrimination of homosexuals in areas where rights are extended to every citizen, but added that they were against any form of homophobic expression. He said that the church was against the promotion of the lifestyle and any programme that promotes homosexual behaviour as normal. He said: 'It's not a crusade against the people but there's a line that God has drawn for us, and we don't want our nation crossing that line.' On 30Apr, the president of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), Dr John Chew, said NCCS did not condone churches getting involved in recent matters related to Aware, nor did it condone pulpits being used for the purpose. The day after Dr Chew's statement, Rev Hong said he regretted using the pulpit to mobilise support in the ongoing dispute over the Aware leadership. He said his actions on the pulpit had aroused some tension and he would be more sensitive to similar situations in future. At an acrimonious extraordinary general meeting on Saturday, Ms Lau and the rest of the Aware exco were ousted, and a new executive committee led by Ms Dana Lam-Teo took over.

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Singapore government confirms arrest of Mas Selamat

Singapore government confirms arrest of Mas Selamat
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 May 2009 1049 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government has confirmed the arrest of fugitive Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari who escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre more than a year ago.

In a statement on Friday, Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said: "Mas Selamat has been arrested by the Malaysian Special Branch (MSB) in a joint operation between the MSB and the Internal Security Department (ISD)."

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said Singapore is happy that Mas Selamat has been arrested.

Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) had worked hard and looked at every lead, sharing information with its Malaysian counterpart.

Mr Wong, who was speaking to reporters at the Home Affairs Ministry on Friday, added that the Malaysian Special Branch has done excellent work.

Both parties have a longstanding cordial relationship which resulted in the arrest of Mas Selamat on April 1.

For now, the JI leader will remain in Malaysia as the authorities there want to continue interviewing him.

The deputy prime minister said Singaporeans must maintain vigilance and not let their guard down following Mas Selamat's arrest as the terror threat is real and Singapore is a prime target.

With Singapore's long coastline, Mr Wong said Singaporeans must not assume the country is safe as there are other JI members who have not been detained.

He said Mas Selamat will be sent to the Whitley Road Detention Centre again when he is brought back to Singapore.

Mr Wong added that the centre is now a different place compared to what it was when the JI leader escaped on February 27 last year.

He also revealed that Mas Selamat had used an improvised flotation device to escape from the north shore of Singapore to Johor Bahru.

Separately, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said the arrest of Mas Salamat is a welcome piece of news to Singaporeans.

He said the JI leader's arrest speaks highly of security forces involved in the operation.

"It's a tribute to the professionalism of the intelligence agencies. They worked across borders with their partners to secure his eventual arrest."


- CNA/so

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Singaporeans cheered by news of Mas Selamat's arrest

Singaporeans cheered by news of Mas Selamat's arrest
By Leong Wee Keat, TODAY | Posted: 08 May 2009 1200 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1 > " onclick="Next();" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_next.gif" type="image" width="18" height="15"> Authorities hunting down Mas Selamat Kastari in 2008. (file photo by TODAY's Koh Mui Fong)
	Related News • Singapore government confirms arrest of Mas Selamat • Singapore's JI leader Mas Selamat arrested in Malaysia Special Report • Mas Selamat

SINGAPORE: It came as a pleasant surprise for many Singaporeans as they awoke on Friday morning to the news that the country's most wanted fugitive, Mas Selamat Kastari, has been captured.

With Influenza A (H1N1) dominating recent headlines, almost all 20 Singaporeans TODAY spoke to said they didn't see Mas Selamat's capture on the radar.

Mr Lim Cheng Heng, who read the news while having his breakfast, probably expressed the sentiments of many when he said: "I thought he had disappeared."

Another Singaporean, Mr Raymond Quek, had believed that the conspiracy theories he had heard were true, until he read the news of the fugitive's capture.

"I thought he had died and we would not hear from him again," said the retiree. "But it is good that he has been caught."

Mas Selamat's capture not only made local headlines, but also found its way to foreign news outlets in Australia and India.

It is believed that he was nabbed in the outskirts of Johor Baru and is now being held by the Malaysian authorities for interrogation.

While Singaporeans were glad to hear of Mas Selamat's capture, many had questions as to how he ended up in Malaysia. For some, the news that he was arrested in Johor came too close for comfort.

"Why was he in Malaysia? Was he planning something that we may not know of?" wondered auditor Sophia Loh.

Mr Tan Hee Joek added: "Was he communicating with someone here? I thought he would have escaped further, say Indonesia."

It is not known why Mas Selamat was in Malaysia. It is also not known why even though he was arrested six weeks ago, the Malaysian authorities have yet to announce the capture.

Financial planner Vincent Tan added: "I thought the authorities said they had no news of his whereabouts. It is definitely a surprise and I hope the authorities could share with us the details of his escape."

Ms Cheng Li Min also wondered how Mas Selamat escaped Singapore given that authorities had shut down the country's borders hours after his escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre.

"I do hope the authorities could share with us what happened," she said.

It is not known how he slipped out of Singapore or when he entered Malaysia.

Mr Chia Wei Ping felt the authorities did well in tracking down the fugitive so quickly.

"Some fugitive go on the run for years and can't be found. They did well in making sure he is caught before he causes any damage," said the technical officer.

Teacher Eugene Ng felt that the news of Mas Selamat's capture could not have come at a better time.

"With Singapore downgrading from Orange to Yellow Alert for the flu virus, I think this comes as great news."


- TODAY/so

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Sniffing out the Straits Times agenda in the AWARE Saga

Sniffing out the Straits Times agenda in the AWARE Saga

A lot has been said about the gays, the anti-gays, the new guard, the old guard in the recent AWARE debacle, but as the ashes of the debate begin to cool, one guilty party escapes from the scrutiny. That party is the Straits Times, especially its senior reporters Wong Kim Hoh and Zakir Hussain.

Before Wong Kim Hoh’s article on the new EXCO on 10 April, my knowledge of AWARE was a small but rather active pro-women group who did one talk in my school (the talk was excellent BTW, the topic was how to help abused women). That’s why when I was surprised to see them grab not the forum section, nor the headlines of the home section, not even the sidebar of the Prime Section, but the Prime Page.

My surprise slowly grew into suspicion when not only did ST’s coverage continue with the weeks, but it did so with a tenacity of purpose (come on, even our GENERAL ELECTIONS don’t get this much attention). In fact, at one point, I could barely tell the difference between the ST and the New Paper because of the kind of headlines that were being published — “UNKNOWNS KNOCK OUT VETERANS”, “COUP LEADER COMES OPEN”,”THE FEMINIST MENTOR”, “AWARE SHOWDOWN”, and the fire they were feeding in the Forums. Before this, they were a pro-women’s rights group with a 30-strong membership nestled somewhere in the Dover heartland. Now, they were being portrayed as the all-important civil society group, whose leadership takeover had apocalyptic consequences that would rattle the foundations of Singapore.

Understand that even though your reporting is factual, you can still be biased. By choosing to give the issue so much attention (especially on print where there’s no diversity of information like online sources), and selectively choosing the kind of stories published, you polarise the issue and force people to take sides. What the ST did was not factual reporting but a deliberate, systematic attempt to provoke a public response.

With my limited knowledge, here are some suggestions as to why ST chose to do this:

1) Increase ailing readership. AWARE was always going to be a juicy issue, guaranteed to draw readership. Maybe ST felt threatened by the emergence of other media, and decided to cover an issue that would grab attention again.

2) Government agenda. Maybe somebody in Gov Inc. didn’t like COOS over-stepping their boundaries, and gave the press rein to expose their act.

3) There was really nothing else interesting deserving ST’s attention on those days. Uh… right.

-and, finally, the most controversial of them all-

4) Wong Kim Hoh / Zakir Hussain has a pro-gay agenda. These two senior writers did a lot of the reports, including the three-page feature on Dr. Thio, the no. 1 enemy of the gay community right now. Kim Hoh has written this article, which clearly reveals his sympathies, so perhaps he thought exposing the coup would create momentum against the New Guard that would force them out. I have sources that also point that during his coverage of the EGM, he was seen associating with the pro-gay crowds.

Now, if Mr. Wong is gay, or harbors sympathies towards the gay community, I have no issue with that. My issue is that assuming my guess is true, what you did was a breach of professionalism as a senior writer of the ST. Save your opinions for your blog, at most, and keep your reporting balanced please.

On the other hand, some of you may laud the ST for doing such a comprehensive coverage of the AWARE saga, because if they hadn’t, maybe Josie and her pussycats would never have been ousted out. Some may even see the coverage as important as it helped to facilitate a triumph of civil/secular society over a “fundamentalist” Christian group.

Well, while this may be so, what I really see was a press that behaved irresponsibly because what they did wasn’t reporting, but public provocation.

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Mas Selamat captured

May 8, 2009

Mas Selamat captured

Fugitive who escaped from Whitley detention centre last year is tracked down and captured in Johor after tip-off from Singapore; he is being held for interrogation by Malaysia

By Leslie Lopez, Senior Regional Correspondent
		Mas Selamat Kastari is snapped leaving the Tanjung Pinang police station under heavy guard by a special squad unit from Riau to the airport bound for Pekanbaru. -- ST FILE PHOTO

View more photos

KUALA LUMPUR: Thirteen months after his audacious escape from detention in Singapore, Mas Selamat Kastari has been caught in Malaysia.

Singapore's most wanted terrorist was captured on April 1 while hiding in Johor, regional intelligence sources told The Straits Times.

Intelligence provided by Singapore's Internal Security Department late last year led to a joint operation between Malaysia and Singapore's security agencies that eventually saw them arresting Mas Selamat in Johor in April. It was not the first time that information from Singapore helped to nab the escape artist. ... more

It is believed that he was nabbed in the outskirts of Johor Baru and is now being held by the Malaysian authorities for interrogation.

It is not known how he slipped out of Singapore or when he entered Malaysia.

Although he was arrested six weeks ago, the Malaysian authorities have not yet announced the capture.

A senior Malaysian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest and said that Mas Selamat was being held under the country's Internal Security Act.

He declined to say when the terrorist would be handed over to the Singapore authorities.

It is believed that the fugitive had stayed in Johor all this time and had not travelled further north. He is also believed to be detained in Johor.

Sources told The Straits Times that the 48-year-old was tracked down based on intelligence provided by Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD), and a joint operation by Malaysia and Singapore's security agencies eventually led to his arrest.

The capture of Mas Selamat brings to an end one of the largest manhunts ever undertaken by Singapore and its neighbours for a terrorist on the run.

---

Intelligence provided by Singapore's Internal Security Department late last year led to a joint operation between Malaysia and Singapore's security agencies that eventually saw them arresting Mas Selamat in Johor in April.

It was not the first time that information from Singapore helped to nab the escape artist.

In February 2003, tip-offs by the Singapore authorities had led Indonesian police to monitor Mas Selamat's movements after he arrived in Indonesia. They tracked him to Tanjung Pinang in Bintan, arresting him just after he arrived by ferry from Dumai in Riau.

After Mas Selamat was released in August 2005, the Singapore police made another request to their Indonesian counterparts to track him again.

In January 2006, they found him at a neighbourhood mosque in Sengkaling, East Java. He was handed over to Singapore the following month.

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Olympic council should review STTA's emotive snub

Olympic council should review STTA's emotive snub

LEADERSHIP in sports is as important as it is in the corporate or political arenas.

Just days into the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) presidency, Ms Lee Bee Wah showed a lack of sensitivity, not only to the Singapore National Olympic Council but also to Singapore with her untimely outburst.

Ms Lee has again shown to her officials and players that she is the boss and their fates are in her hands, that even the coach who nurtured Singapore's Olympic silver medal team can go nowhere without her support.

The fact is that coach Liu Guodong managed to bring out the best in a team to enable Singapore to win the Olympic silver medal. If this is not sufficient to win him the Coach of the Year award, if not the Coach of the Decade, then whoever won before him is a mockery.

We followed the STTA saga from Beijing Olympics to Singapore with great disappointment. We have shown to all sports officials, Singaporean and foreign, that to move forward, they must learn to kowtow to power.

According to Ms Lee: 'Results are not the only criterion.' She may wish to know that results are the No. 1 criterion. She has erred and her judgment appears to be emotive in snubbing coach Liu.

I suggest that the Singapore National Olympic Council review the nomination process, overrule the STTA's decision not to support Liu and restore confidence in the local sports scene by giving Liu his due reward, Coach of the Year.

Han Jit Kwang

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Lee Wei Ling criticises Health officials

May 8, 2009
FIGHTING INFLUENZA A
Tackling it better

MUCH has been said about this new variant of Influenza A (H1N1) virus. In brief, it seems to have started in Mexico but spread rapidly throughout the world, especially in the Americas.

As a doctor observing how our health-care system responded to this potential threat, I have several points to make from which we can learn to better tackle the next outbreak of H1N1 or other novel infectious diseases.

First, protecting Singapore from H1N1 must be an all-or-none approach. The present approach is illogical: People from certain countries or regions that have shown significant human-to-human transmission are not allowed into Singapore, or if they have already arrived, are quarantined; yet people from other areas where there is human-to-human transmission are allowed to enter freely. The latter group will bring in H1N1 and waste efforts to protect Singapore.

Second, standard operating procedures cannot be transferred automatically from one medical illness to another. In Sars, there was some logic in using fever to screen for patients who were infected because when they were infectious, the fever had already started. Even then, there was a huge proportion of false positives leading to futile investigations and anxiety.

With H1N1, the situation is worse. More than one-third of people infected have no fever or other features of flu. Of those who will eventually develop fever and symptoms and signs of flu, they are infectious yet appear well on the first day of their illness.

This leads to a high percentage of false negatives, which is worse than not having tested these people because they now have a false sense of security and hence are likely to spread their infection even further.

We must not dismiss H1N1 just because the morbidity and mortality seem mild compared to regular flu.

We should heed World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan's warning: 'Flu viruses are very unpredictable, very deceptive...We should not be over-confident.'

I agree and would rather the Health Ministry err on the side of over- cautiousness, so we expend a few million dollars rather than relax because Mexico declared it was winning the battle against this new strain of H1N1, and later suffer unacceptable loss of lives.

Prof Lee Wei Ling

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MOE not making changes to core sexuality programme in schools

MOE not making changes to core sexuality programme in schools
By Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 May 2009 1809 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1 > " onclick="Next();" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_next.gif" type="image" width="18" height="15"> Sex education talk (file pic)
	Related News • MOE suspends sexuality education programmes by external vendors • AWARE debate still raging in cyberspace • MOE investigates complaints over AWARE's sex ed programme • Controversial content in AWARE's sex education programme sparks debate

SINGAPORE : The Ministry of Education (MOE) said it will not be making changes to its core sexuality education programme, but warned that external providers offering programmes to supplement the core component should comply with the ministy's guidelines.

Speaking at the sidelines of a community event, Senior Minister of State for Education S Iswaran said appropriate action will be taken if programmes are found to be inconsistent with its guidelines.

Referring to the programme offered by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), he said parts of it are in line with the MOE's message.

Mr Iswaran also said the suspension on sexuality education programmes affects all external providers until the ministry completes reviewing its process of vetting service providers.

"Parents have a right to be concerned. The Ministry of Education strives to keep mainstream sex education in compliance with mainstream values in Singapore," said Mr Iswaran, who is the Senior Minister of State for Education. - CNA /ls

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'Right' to be concerned

May 8, 2009

'Right' to be concerned

By Theresa Tan
		Mr Iswaran stressed that the Ministry of Education strives to keep sexuality education in line with mainstream values in Singapore. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG

SENIOR Minister of State for Education S Iswaran said parents are 'quite right' to be concerned by some parts of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) sexuality education programme.

While he did not elaborate, he stressed the Ministry of Education strives to keep sexuality education in line with mainstream values in Singapore.

The minister's comments came two days after MOE said it will suspend all sexuality education programmes in schools run by external groups, including the controversial Aware one.

In addition, the MOE will implement a new, tougher vetting process for the selection of such external programmes by schools.

The move was taken after the MOE received complaints, Mr Iswaran told reporters at an event on Friday, at which Cola Cola Singapore and McDonalds treated about 70 poor families to lunch.

He also said that schools are given automony to decide which external agencies to hire to run programmes but added that the MOE will take 'appropriate action' if it finds specific instances where such programmes don't follow MOE's guidelines.

'I think there are specific instances, upon investigation, there's a sense that they (Aware) have exceeded guidelines and we are taking appropriate action now,' he added.

A copy of Aware's instructor guide for its sexuality education programme posted online contained lines such as 'anal sex can be healthy or neutral if practised with consent and with a condom' and 'homosexuality is perfectly normal. Just like heterosexuality, it is simply the way you are'.

However, Aware had earlier told The Straits Times its instructor guide, which is meant to be confidential, contained more responses that what is used.

Aware added: 'The guide includes possible responses for instructors should certain topics, such as homosexuality and premarital sex, be raised during sessions. They are not necessarily the responses actually used, as our instructors always use language and terms appropriate to their audience.'

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MAS SELAMAT: Don't let guard down

May 8, 2009

CAPTURE OF MAS SELAMAT

Don't let guard down

		Singaporeans must continue to be vigilant and keep their guard up against terrorism. --ST PHOTO: ABDUL AZIZ HUSSIN

SINGAPOREANS must continue to be vigilant and keep their guard up against terrorism, even as JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari has been arrested in Malaysia, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng.

'I think Singaporeans must not think that just because Mas Selamat is arrested and now in Malaysia, the threat of security, the threat of terrorism will not be there anymore,' he said at a news conference on Friday morning.

VIDEO 'Don't take security for granted' (1:55)

'In fact... the threat of terrorism is real, we are a prime target and therefore there's no question about letting our guard down.'

Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister, added that Singapore must remain and continue to implement safety measures it has put in place.

'Singapore is a small country with a long coastline. It is porous and it's easy for people and for goods to be brought in, or even to leave Singapore. So we must not assume that just by the arrest of one person, Singapore will be safe from terrorist threat,' he cautioned.

Besides Mas Selamat, he said there are other Jemaah Islamiah members who have not been caught yet and many more that are unknown to intelligence.

'We don't know where they are, who they are and when they will come into Singapore, so we must not believe that with the arrest of Mas Selamat, we can let our guard down.'

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Mas Selamat: Will be back at Whitley centre

May 8, 2009

Capture of Mas Selamat

Will be back at Whitley centre

		Mas Selamat Kastari will be detained again at the Whitley Road detention centre when he is brought back to Singapore after the Malaysian authorities have completed their interrogation. --ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG

View more photos

ESCAPED Mas Selamat Kastari, who has been caught in Johor Baru, will be detained again at the Whitley Road detention centre when he is brought back to Singapore after the Malaysian authorities have completed their interrogation.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said the detention centre, where the terror leader of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiah network escaped from, 'is today very different from the one on Feb 27, 2008' - the day Mas Selamat escaped.

'Many security measures have been put in place and that is the place we are going to put him,' Mr Wong, who is Home Affairs Minister, told a media conference on Friday morning, after news broke that the JI terrorist has been arrested.

Mr Wong said from the brief that was given to Singapore, Mas Selamat swam across the Straits of Johor with an 'improvised flotation device.'

'We don't know all the details and until he's brought back to Singapore and ISD interview him, we don't have much information on that,' he said.

After Mas Selamat's escape, a Committee of Enquiry was set up to look into the incident, highlight what went wrong and come up with recommendations to boost security especially at the Whitley Road Detention Centre.

The committee came up with 10 suggestions on how to rectify weaknesses there.

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Mas Selamat: ISD provides crucial lead

May 8, 2009

Capture of Mas Selamat

ISD provides crucial lead

		Mas Selamat's escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27 last year sparked a massive manhunt in Singapore and the region. -- PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

DEPUTY Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng commended the Internal Security Department (ISD) officers for going all out to track down the escaped terror leader Mas Selamat, who was eventually caught in Malaysia on April 1.

Mr Wong also said the capture of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiah network leader was the result oft the strong co-operation between security agencies on both sides. Intelligence leads provided by Singapore's ISD late last year played a key role leading to the arrest.

VIDEO Significance of arrest: Terror trends in the region (1:18)

Briefing the media on Friday morning on the capture of Mas Selamat, whose escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27 last year sparked a massive manhunt in Singapore and the region, and involved the Interpol, Mr Wong said details of the arrest are brief at the moment as the Malaysian authorities are still questioning him.

Bernama on Friday reported that Singapore's most wanted man was arrested by Malaysian Special Branch officers near Skudai, about 25km from Johor Baru.

'We know that he has relatives staying in Skudai,' said Bernama, quoting a source, who is familiar with the operation to nab the JI leader, who masterminded a plot to hijack a jetliner and crash it into Singapore's Changi Airport.

Mas Selamat first fled Singapore in 2001 but was captured by the Indonesian police on Bintan Island in 2006 and detained at the maximum security Whitley Road detention centre.

Asked for his reaction on the capture, Mr Wong said at the media briefing: 'I am glad that he is now arrested. We were informed of the arrest soon after the arrest by the Malaysians on April 1. I also reported that to the Prime Minister. As I have said before, so long as we can find some leads on him sometime or other, we will find him.'

He said despite the setback last year, which was 'a painful lesson' for ISD officers, they continued to work very hard and did not give up.

'They continued to work their leads and they looked at every lead possible that it provided, and for this particular one, they developed this lead on their own and eventually, they shared that lead which they think is the most credible one with the Malaysians.

'The Malaysians worked hard on that and eventually found where Mas Selamat was and arrested him.

'On this, I must say that the excellent work done by the Malaysian Special Branch is really highly commendable. Between ISD and MSB, there's a long standing cooperative, cordial relationship and as a result of this kind of relationship, we were able to keep each of our countries safe, and contribute to the safety and security of the region.'

Confirming the arrest of Mas Selamat, Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on Friday morning that he could not go into the detail because 'this is a sensitive issue which involves three parties namely Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.'

'It also involves intelligence agencies of the three governments and it is something that I do not want to jeopardise,' he said, assuring that the Malaysian authorities would ensure that Mas Selamat would not escape for a second time

Bernama said Mas Selamat is still in police custody and had not been sent to the

Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak where Malaysian ISA detainees are held.

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John Lui shares his views on the Aware saga.

Get your values out of my face

May 08, 2009 Friday, 11:42 AM

John Lui shares his views on the Aware saga.

GET your values out of my elite uncaring face.

If there is one lesson that the Aware saga has proven yet again, it is that parents have an inflated sense of their own worth in society.

I am not married and do not have children and it has irritated me for a long time that mothers and fathers like to excuse their incredibly selfish behaviour by saying "it's for the sake of the kids".

http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2009/5/8/get-your-values-out-of-my-elite-uncaring-face

The group of pro-values parents who object to a factual and comprehensive sex eduation programme should be reminded that their little darlings belong to the same society that I do.

If these little angels as a result of ignorant fornication foist little bundles of joy on society and its taxpayers, I for one will be more than a little displeased.

In my eyes, having teenagers with fully functioning reproductive organs and not being able to control them is similar to owning a pit bull with big teeth and not putting it on a leash. Both creatures are hazards to other people.

If you tell me that your pit bull's fondness for sinking his fangs into people is "a private matter between a dog and his owner", I would tell you to grow a brain, you selfish, ignorant fool.

And if you campaign to keep leashes off dangerous dogs, then you are more than a fool, you are a menace to society.

Your right to keep your pet unrestrained ends where the skin of my leg begins.

Your rights to keep your child ignorant about sex ends where my tax dollars start to fund public medical programmes for STDs, juvenile delinquency schemes and prisons for people screwed up by being born to poor teenage mothers.

In the pages of The Straits Times over the last four weeks, we have seen upper-middle class professionals, driven by private religious impulses, strive to change public education policy.

People from well-off, educated families are the ones who are statistically the least likely to suffer from the problems of teen pregnancy and STDs. Yet they feel driven to restrict sex education for the people who need it most: Teens from lower-income families.

But it makes sense. After all, the harm that these well-meaning people could cause will never affect them directly. They get to feel holy but will never experience the misery born of their actions.

Singapore was born of pragmatism. Legalised prostitution protects women in the sex trade from pimps. No-one likes prostitution but greater misery comes from driving it underground.

Teenage sexual behaviour is a public health issue, like swine flu or dengue fever.

The next time someone tells me that sex education is a private matter between a parent and his child, I will tell him that in return, I will make open containers filled with stagnant water a private matter between myself and the stuff I keep on my property.

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How serious was yeseterday’s Treasury auction?

How serious was yeseterday’s Treasury auction?

May 8th, 2009
By David Goldman

A prominent economist writes today that he has taken his personal money out of dollars and put it into Australian and Canadian dollars, the commodity currencies. The sloppy 30-year auction today, he believes, is a true crack in the dam.

I am less certain: my core view is that America will undergo something closer to the Japanese scenario, in which economic growth stays extremely low, asset price deflation does not reverse, short-term rates stay close to zero, savings rates remain elevated, and bond yields stay low. All that has happened since March is that the end-of-the-world premium has been taken out of the Treasury market.

Remember that credit protection on the United State of America reached 75 basis points in early March — that’s where protection on Brazil was trading pre-crisis. It’s now down to “only” 35 basis points, given the success of the Fed’s and Treasury’s efforts to refloat bank equity with a few trillions of dollars of liquidity.

What the Federal Reserve and Treasury have set in motion is the mother of all crowdings-out. The Fed is compelled to buy substantial amounts of Treasuries to prevent the federal deficit from turning into a $1.8 trillion black hole that sucks in all the free savings of the world and then sum. The moment that yields start to rise, the stock market reacts negatively. There is no “give” in the economy for any substantial rise in yields: the penalty to growth expectations is exacted immediately.

By ballooning the deficit and tying the credit of the United States to the balance sheet of the banking system, the Fed has avoided panic, but has crippled the economy for the long term. There is no way to finance the deficit except by suppressing financing for everyone else. The massive amount of liquidity created by the Fed has no inflationary effect as long as the market does not wan to hold real assets — and it will not as long as the federal government sucks up the available savings. The most like scenario is a paralytic, zombie-like stasis.

The major commodity indices still remain close to their lows with an modest uptick reflecting the mildest hopes for recovery.

Red=UBS, Yellow=GSCI, Green=CRB, Blue=ROgers

source: Bloomberg

To get a run out of bonds into hard assets, first people must want to own hard assets rather than locked-in cash flows. I just don’t see it for the next couple of years.

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When meeting the people’s session becomes an occupational hazard

When meeting the people’s session becomes an occupational hazard

SINGAPORE - One MP got punched and was subsequently set on fire in an unfortunate incident. Another received threats of a physical assault by phone. Recently, a 17-year-old was arrested for hurling a chair at the glass door of an MP office.

What do the above antagonists have in common? Frustration, perhaps. The first one was a cabbie who was unhappy over the lack of assistance in reinstating his revoked license. The other was frustrated over the fact that he has not been receiving financial assistance from the Central Community Development Council (CDC). The other simple lost his cool after a meeting session with the MP.

It was apparent from reports that the above assailants have been afflicted with some sort of unsound mind based on their history at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) or had some form of intellectual handicap in the case of the 17-year-old who was reported to have a low IQ. It is quite tempting to attribute such assaults or nearly assaults to the mental capacities of the perpetuators. But one shouldn’t lose track of the larger picture - effects of the political culture of the ruling party and the savviness of their candidates in dealing with the ground that comes in all forms.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people who need help from their MP are already at their last vestige of desperation. Obviously, a person who has been doing grassroots work and administering to such people for a long time would be able to cope with such desperate souls. An attitude of wanting to help the downtrodden ones is a definite must-have.

What does the political culture of the ruling PAP have to do with this? Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong admitted that the purpose of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) is to serve as a platform to bring top talents who are potential ministerial material into the government.

“They also contribute to Singapore’s political stability, by ‘helping us to recruit younger and capable candidates with the potential to become ministers.”
- The Straits Times, in an interview with Mr Goh

And Mr Goh further added that such candidates wanted the guarantee of winning their first election if they were to make their first foray into politics.

“Without some assurance of a good chance of winning at least their first election, many able and successful young Singaporeans may not risk their careers to join politics.”
- Mr Goh, in the aforementioned interview

Thus, if a particular candidate has not received his baptism of fire in working with the desperate and downtrodden, but is instead parachuted into such a position by the mechanics of a GRC contest, one really wonders if the latter can effectively tend to the desperate and downtrodden residents in his ward. Yes, apologists for the ruling party may be tempted to point to the fact that these assailants have a diminished capacity to control their rage. Then, would one expect the ground to be free of such people? The ground is populated with people of varying mental and intellectual capacities, and the reality is that the MP of the ward must also deal with the ones whose capacities are deemed to be ‘aberrant’. If such people have violent tendencies, how come our ‘much maligned’ (at least from the mainstream media’s perspective) members of the opposition have not received such treatment? Opposition parties like the Singapore Democratic Party, Worker’s Party and the Singapore Democratic Alliance have been walking the ground and surely they must be exposed to such people. Thus, it is only by working the ground can one be savvy in dealing with all types of people, including those with ‘limited capacities’.

I remembered a memorable quote from the movie Spiderman, which was an advice from Uncle Ben to Peter Parker AKA Spiderman:”With great power, comes great responsibility”. The pertinent question is - are those in power well-equipped enough to take on such great responsibilities?

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Christian Coup Foiled in Singapore Women's Club

Christian Coup Foiled in Singapore Women's Club
Written by Ben Bland
Friday, 08 May 2009

Women's associations are usually thought of as dull social clubs for the retired and others with far too much time on their hands. For the last 25 years, Singapore main women's body - the Association of Women for Action and Research, or Aware - was seen in a similar light and few Singaporeans had even heard of it.

But an abortive coup by a group of anti-gay fundamentalist Christians has thrown the organization center stage, in the process revealing the growing clout of Singapore's online activists, and the surprising strength of civil society.

The saga has pushed the boundaries of public discourse in Singapore, where discussions about homosexuality are normally taboo, in the process attracting the close attention of senior government ministers and Singapore's largest bank, DBS. The government has always maintained an uneasy balance over religion, allowing plenty of it as long as it doesn't get too fervent. In the 1980s, the government cracked down on a group of Catholic activists and threw them in jail. It has nailed the odd Islamic extremist here and there and arrested them. It has taken a largely tolerant attitude towards sex despite the island's conservative image. There are plenty of prostitutes and transvestites plying the streets without visible intimidation although Immigration seizes the obvious foreign entrants and sends them back to wherever they come from.

However, fundamentalist American-style mega-churches that peddle a heady mix of religion, showbiz and virulent social conservatism have been gaining strength. Taking the kind of approach to indoctrination normally employed by Communist insurgents or Al-Qaeda operatives, these churches eschew traditional Bible reading sessions in favor of "cells". They make explicit attacks on homosexuality, claiming in defiance of all medical expertise and any notion of equality and common sense that it can and should be "cured." And they also usually pay their pastors big bucks.

Singapore's Church of Our Saviour, housed in an old cinema west of the city center, is one such organization and it is from within this church that the plot was hatched to seize control of Aware. Led by a 70-year-old lawyer called Thio Su Mien, a group of born-again Christians had become frustrated with the way that, as they saw it, Aware was promoting homosexuality and lesbianism through its sex education programs.

To most observers, there was nothing even remotely controversial about Aware promoting tolerance, informed choice and safe sex to Singaporean youngsters. But to hectoring, self-styled moral guardians like Thio and her cohort it was unacceptable, so they decided to secretly seize control of the group. Using classic sleeper tactics, scores of women from the fundamentalist Christian community were urged to join Aware ahead of its annual general meeting at the end of March. The born-again Christian soldiers followed orders faithfully and to the consternation of Aware stalwarts, six unknowns – who it would later emerge were all members of the Church of Our Saviour acting under the mentorship of Thio – were elected to the executive committee and several well-respected female rights activists voted off.

But, in the days that followed, the anti-gay cabal refused to show their hand and most Aware members remained unaware, so to speak, of the true nature of the remarkable coup that had just taken place.

As rumblings of discontent about the takeover started to seep out from the old guard, as the ousted members became known, it was Singaporean bloggers and online citizen journalists who started to unravel the murky details of the plot.

They found out that several of the new members of the Aware board regularly attended the Church of Our Saviour, which offers "counseling and spiritual help for those who want to be set free from homosexual thoughts, tendencies and practices," and also revealed that some of these women had had letters published in local newspapers that made their anti-gay views clear.

The story was still largely confined to a handful of blogs and websites, with little interest shown outside of Singapore's community of determined, if sometimes conspiracy-obsessed, netizens. That changed when DBS took the extremely unusual step of publicly rebuking one of its senior executives, Josie Lau, another Church of Our Saviour attendee, after she was chosen to be president of the new Aware executive committee.

Like other blue chip companies in Singapore, DBS likes to keep tabs on what its senior executives get up to in their free time and the bank claimed that Lau had run for office against its advice. DBS stressed that it was concerned about the extra pressure that the new role would put on Ms Lau. But many saw another explanation for DBS' nervousness: last year, the bank came under fire after the credit card marketing division, headed by Ms Lau, launched a charity campaign whose beneficiary was Focus On The Family, an evangelical American group known for its anti-gay views.

Even as further evidence of the coup continued to emerge, Ms Lau and the other new Aware executives continued to insist that they had no secret agenda and that they had not known each other before being elected.

But once they had pushed the boundaries of popular disbelief to their limits, Thio finally came clean in a hastily-arranged press conference, revealing that she had, in fact, been behind the coup. While the women had not known each other, she had operated as their "feminist mentor" and convinced them to take control of Aware in order to reverse its supposed support for homosexuality.

It was only once all this information was out in the open that it became clear what a spectacular own-goal Thio and her mentees had scored by deploying such underhand tactics.

Public opinion began to turn against the group and hundreds of women joined Aware to voice their opposition to the new guard at an extraordinary general meeting that the old guard had called. The membership of Aware swelled from 300 to 3,000 in a matter of weeks as both sides prepared to fight it out.

The government of Singapore, as it usually does, also felt the need to get involved, with a number of cabinet ministers warning both sides not to advance their religion or their views on sexuality in a way that would threaten Singapore's delicate social balance. These were not just empty words from a government that, while respecting freedom of religion for the most part, has always taken a dim view of religious groups becoming too aggressively involved in social issues. The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Moonies' Unification Church have been outlawed because they are deemed a threat to social stability.

At a riotous EGM last weekend, the Aware old guard triumphed with the anti-gay plotters eventually resigning after losing a vote of no confidence. But they are continuing their fight and have convinced the ministry of education to suspend the use of a sex education manual produced by Aware.

As the dust settles, the government and the handful of opposition politicians in Singapore will be taking note. This sort of divisive public battle for control of a civil society group is unprecedented in the normally quiescent city-state. It is far from the clear that this activism will translate into the stale sphere of Singaporean politics, where the ruling People's Action Party has won every election since independence with an overwhelming majority.

However, one thing is clear. Empowered by the freedom of communicating through the internet and fueled by a deep sense of justice and tolerance, people power (of sorts) has finally arrived in Singapore.

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Mas Selamat: Who gets the credit?

The capture:
Who gets the credit?
Kastari’s arrest and the claim for top credits: Who provided the crucial intelligence, and when will he be returned to Singapore? Commentary. By Seah Chiang Nee.
May 8, 2009

That the dangerous Mas Selamat Kastari is back in custody is good news for Southeast Asia, and a testimony of Singapore-Malaysia cooperation.

But it seems to have resulted in the controlled media of the two countries giving different slants of the arrest, so we'll have to wait for the official versions to know the truth.

Here are some of the conflicting versions reported in their largest newspapers - The Star and The Straits Times – apparently after talking to official sources.

(1) Joint operation?

Straits Times: Sources told The Straits Times that Mas Selamat was tracked down based on intelligence provided by Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD), and a joint operation by Malaysia and Singapore’s security agencies eventually led to his arrest.

The Star: The fugitive, who escaped from a Singapore maximum security detention centre (with two other suspects) was arrested in Johor by Malaysian Special Branch officers with the help of other police departments here. No mention of a joint operation with Singapore.

Who is right? Was it a joint operation or a Malaysian one? For consideration: it is possible that the Malaysians do not want to tell their people that Singaporean Special branch was operating with them in Johor - if indeed it did happen.

(2) Intelligence gathering

Straits Times: Sources told The Straits Times that Mas Selamat was tracked down based on intelligence provided by Singapore’s ISD.

The Star: The sharing of information between three countries - Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia - has led to the arrest of Kastari who was hiding in Johor.

Translation: Unlike the Straits Times report, intelligence had not come from Singapore alone, but from Indonesia as well.

In addition there’s also the reward of S$1 million - offered for information leading to Kastari’s capture - to consider. Who will get it?

‘Return to Singapore’

There are potential obstacles to remove before Kastari can eb returned to continue his detention in Singapore.

While Singapore's government-controlled Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that Kastari is likely "to be returned to Singapore soon" the Malaysians are giving no indications of this.

Instead their Home Minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, said it would depend on bilateral talks, implying that it is something to negotiate over.

Mas Selamat is now under Malaysia's own Internal Security Act (ISA). "He is under our detention and is being investigated right now. He was planning something which allows us to arrest him," he said.

The implication is that Kuala Lumpur may have grounds to detain him for its own security reasons.

If - only a remote if – the investigation were to turn up evidence that the 48-year-old suspect was plotting terrorism in Malaysia during the past year, he might possibly remain under Malaysian detention.

That would put Singapore in an embarrassing situation of seeing escaped detainee remaining outside its grasp.

The Singapore government, especially Home Affairs Minister, Wong Kan Seng, whose is blamed for Kastri's incredible escape 13 months ago, obviously wants Kastari back as quickly as possible.

The Malaysians, on the other hand, appear not to see any urgency in releasing their prize catch. Unless, of course, they can extract some benefits from it!

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Mas Selamat rebuilding terror network in Malaysia, say experts

Mas Selamat rebuilding terror network in Malaysia, say experts
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 May 2009 1911 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1 > " onclick="Next();" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_next.gif" type="image" width="18" height="15"> Mas Selamat bin Kastari, seen here in 2003
	Related News • Singaporeans cheered by news of Mas Selamat's arrest • Singapore government confirms arrest of Mas Selamat • Singapore's JI leader Mas Selamat arrested in Malaysia Video Mas Selamat rebuilding terror network in Malaysia, say experts Special Report • Mas Selamat Arrest

SINGAPORE : Terror experts said fugitive Mas Selamat was rebuilding his terror network in Malaysia and was planning to relocate to Indonesia.

They believe he managed to escape with the help of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) operatives in Malaysia.

While Singaporeans can finally come to rest with his capture, experts said they must continue to be vigilant.

Dr Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert, said: "Mas Selamat is a terrorist with a very high degree of experience, and a man with tremendous determination. There are very few terrorists of that competence and capability, and it demonstrates that Singapore and the region faces a continuous threat. JI is a group that's constantly growing,... constantly active and he's been able to link up with a number of JI members,"

Experts believe that fortunately, Mas Selamat was not able to execute his dangerous operations while in hiding.

"The Malaysians only invoke ISA (Internal Security Act) if it was close to execution stage. So (there's) enough evidence for them to invoke the Act to make the case, that there's a need for the Act to be implemented for Mas Selamat," said terrorism expert Dr Kumar Ramakrishna.

"It's very important for these agencies to find out who Mas Selamat was in contact with, whether these are people already known, whether there are new individuals who are clean skins who have never had records before but are now radicalised and forming support cells, and (whether they have) plans laid for Singapore or anywhere else in region," he added.

Dr Rohan believes the Malaysians have discovered vital information which could lead to more arrests, although getting more out of Mas Selamat won't be easy.

"In terms of breaking Mas Selamat Kastari would require a very significant period of time because he's a very hardened terrorist," said Dr Rohan.

Experts warned that the JI group still poses a profound threat, so authorities need to continue to keep a close watch on them.

Experts said governments should also work more closely with schools and religious institutions to educate the public that JI is a deviant group and that the community should come together to fight such extremism. - CNA /ls

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Why is Mas Selamat arrest a Straits Times scoop?

Why is Mas Selamat arrest a Straits Times scoop?

Why was terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari's arrest first reported in the Straits Times?

One would have expected the government to announce the news, especially after the scandal he caused by escaping from a Singapore prison more than a year ago.

Granted he was rearrested in Malaysia by Malaysian police. But they were tipped off by Singapore intelligence, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng was quick to say after the Straits Times reported the arrest today.

So Singapore can take credit too for his arrest. All the more reason why the government could have broken the news.

But instead the news surfaced in a newspaper that is not known for investigative stories, particularly regarding the government.

The terrorist was arrested on April 1, the Straits Times reported quoting "regional intelligence sources". It added:

A senior Malaysian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest…

What the report didn't say is who the "regional intelligence sources" were.

Did they include Singaporeans as well as Malaysians?

The report was quick to give credit to Singapore intelligence. It said:

A source said that the Singapore side had picked up a lead on Mas Selamat's trail towards the end of last year and pursued it.

When they proved to be a credible lead, they passed on the information to the Malaysian authorities…

The report did not say whether the unidentified source was a Singaporean or a Malaysian.

The Straits Times, being a Singapore newspaper, naturally highlighted the good work done by the Singaporeans.

This is the third time Mas Selamat has been tracked down by Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD), it said.

The terrorist's arrest is a feather in the caps of all those involved. So why was the news broken by a newspaper and not through official channels?

Why did Singapore's deputy prime minister appear on television to confirm the news instead of announcing it? Was it out of politeness that neither government wanted to be first with the news and the story ended up as a Straits Times scoop?

This way everybody wins. One could see the deputy prime minister smiling on Channel NewsAsia.

While the news has been picked up by the BBC, CNN and other foreign media, not everyone in Singapore is making a beeline for the Straits Times despite its scoop.

I was surprised to see stacks of unsold copies at a news stand and two other shops in my neighbourhood in the evening. I had bought a copy at the interchange on my way home expecting to find none near my place.

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