PM Lee told the media on Saturday that he and WKS did not inform any of the cabinet ministers about MSK arrest until last Thursday on 7 May 09. So it means that even his second deputy PM Teo Chee Hean and Law Minister Shanmugam were also kept in the dark as they cannot be trusted to keep this secret. Now how about his father, the Minister Mentor? Is PM Lee also saying that both he and WKS had not told MM Lee about MKS arrest by the Malaysian police when they first got the news? If he had told his father, then what he had said is not totally true then. Question is why didn't any reporters ask him about this?
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_374842.html
Ministers not told earlier <!--10 min-->
Even Cabinet not told as Malaysia had asked for the matter to be kept quiet, he explains <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- headline one : start -->
</td> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- headline one : end -->
</td> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- Author -->
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Goh Chin Lian </td> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- show image if available -->
</td> </tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
</td> <td valign="bottom">
Mr Lee stressed that his arrest does not mark the end of Singapore's fight against terror. -- LIAN HE ZAO BAO FILE PHOTO
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--> THE arrest of Mas Selamat Kastari was such a closely guarded secret even Singapore's Cabinet ministers were not told about it until last Thursday, when The Straits Times called the Government to confirm the story, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday. It was only then that Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told the other ministers about it. 'They were completely taken by surprise,' Mr Lee said in his first comments on the capture of the terrorist leader.
<table valign="top" align="left" width="200"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="padr8"> <!-- Vodcast --> <!-- Background Story --> PM stresses need to keep up our guard
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recounts how he and other Cabinet members learnt of the re-arrest of Mas Selamat Kastari, in his first comments on the matter since The Straits Times broke the story on Friday:
'I had a four-eye lunch with Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Pattaya on April 11.
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> He also explained why he and Mr Wong had remained tight- lipped until that point. The Malaysians informed Singapore shortly after the arrest took place but requested that the matter be kept quiet for the time being. Mr Wong conveyed the news to the Prime Minister. Mr Lee said he knew that Singaporeans, who had rallied round the Government in its massive manhunt after Mas Selamat's escape in February last year, would be very anxious for the news. But Malaysia's request had to be respected.
The Malaysian Special Branch nabbed Mas Selamat in Johor on April 1 following a lead from Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD). He remains in its custody for interrogation.
The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez learnt about the arrest and, last Thursday, the paper asked the ISD to confirm its scoop. 'As the story had leaked, we had no choice but to confirm it,' Mr Lee said.
In his one-page statement, he praised the work of the Malaysian Special Branch and Singapore's ISD. He said he had personally conveyed Singapore's thanks for Malaysia's generous support and help when he met Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Pattaya on April 11.
Observing that the Jemaah Islamiah terror group remained active in the region, Mr Lee said Singapore and Malaysia must work together to counter it and other such groups.
He expressed special appreciation for the close cooperation and trust between the ISD and the Special Branch.
He also thanked all the Singapore officers who had been involved in the year-long manhunt for Mas Selamat.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_374842.html
Ministers not told earlier <!--10 min-->
Even Cabinet not told as Malaysia had asked for the matter to be kept quiet, he explains <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- headline one : start -->
</td> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- headline one : end -->
</td> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- Author -->
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Goh Chin Lian </td> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- show image if available -->
</td> </tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
Mr Lee stressed that his arrest does not mark the end of Singapore's fight against terror. -- LIAN HE ZAO BAO FILE PHOTO
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--> THE arrest of Mas Selamat Kastari was such a closely guarded secret even Singapore's Cabinet ministers were not told about it until last Thursday, when The Straits Times called the Government to confirm the story, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday. It was only then that Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told the other ministers about it. 'They were completely taken by surprise,' Mr Lee said in his first comments on the capture of the terrorist leader.
<table valign="top" align="left" width="200"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="padr8"> <!-- Vodcast --> <!-- Background Story --> PM stresses need to keep up our guard
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recounts how he and other Cabinet members learnt of the re-arrest of Mas Selamat Kastari, in his first comments on the matter since The Straits Times broke the story on Friday:
'I had a four-eye lunch with Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Pattaya on April 11.
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> He also explained why he and Mr Wong had remained tight- lipped until that point. The Malaysians informed Singapore shortly after the arrest took place but requested that the matter be kept quiet for the time being. Mr Wong conveyed the news to the Prime Minister. Mr Lee said he knew that Singaporeans, who had rallied round the Government in its massive manhunt after Mas Selamat's escape in February last year, would be very anxious for the news. But Malaysia's request had to be respected.
The Malaysian Special Branch nabbed Mas Selamat in Johor on April 1 following a lead from Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD). He remains in its custody for interrogation.
The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez learnt about the arrest and, last Thursday, the paper asked the ISD to confirm its scoop. 'As the story had leaked, we had no choice but to confirm it,' Mr Lee said.
In his one-page statement, he praised the work of the Malaysian Special Branch and Singapore's ISD. He said he had personally conveyed Singapore's thanks for Malaysia's generous support and help when he met Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Pattaya on April 11.
Observing that the Jemaah Islamiah terror group remained active in the region, Mr Lee said Singapore and Malaysia must work together to counter it and other such groups.
He expressed special appreciation for the close cooperation and trust between the ISD and the Special Branch.
He also thanked all the Singapore officers who had been involved in the year-long manhunt for Mas Selamat.
