Mas Selamat's Family

No Singaporean doesn't know Mas Selamat, the infamous Jemaah Islamiah leader whose escape from Whitley Detention centre in 2008 brought much embarrasment to Singapore. However, few know about his family, without whom Mas Selamat would not been able to successfully escape.

Two days after he fled from Whitley Detention Centre on February 27, 2008, Mas Selamat put a tudung over his head and wore make-up as part of his disguise as a Muslim woman, which successfully aided him in his trans-country escape attempt.

But this could not be done without family members who harboured him in their HDB flat two days after his escape.Family members - Asmom, his borther, Nu Ainin Asmom, his niece, Aisa, his sister-in-law, as well as Mahadir, his nephew, not only provided a place to sleep and gave him food and drinks, but also lent money to him and offered him their hairnets, sarong to disguise as a woman.

As a result, when Mas Selamat was being re-captured and re-detained in Singapore in 2009, his family were also arrested for helping him, and were all sentenced to over a year period of jail. Clearly, the government wants to send a strong warning message to all Singaporeans that anyone who aids terrorist activities would face serious consequences.

However, has the government not considered that the motivation behind the aid offfered by Mas Selamat's famaily is not one of supporting terrorist cause, but more of kinship and family love towards their family member?

The government claimed that "kin's acts don't reflect on community", and asserted without evidence that "all Singaporeans across the communities will feel disappointed with the actions of Asmom and his family". Putting words in our mouth, the government seems to picture our coomunity as one that should be totally impartial, even to a the point of betraying your borther?

Will you turn your wife or your mother to court if you found out she was actually a terrorist leader? Of course not.

The government should really be more humanitarian in their judgement.