23 January 2002 1353 hrs (GMT) 2153 hrs (SST) Government watching Jemaah Islamiyah head since 1991: Wong Kan Seng by Walter Fernandez
The Whitley Detention Centre

The Singapore Government was keeping tabs on Ibrahim Maidin, who heads the Singapore branch of the clandestine group, Jemaah Islamiyah, as far back as 1991, after the Gulf War.

Nothing incriminating was uncovered then.

But it received a tip-off after the September 11 attacks in the US, that an associate of Ibrahim's was linked to the Al-Qaeda.

And news that this Singaporean had been arrested in Afghanistan, a month later, forced the authorities here to act before the group fled the country.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng revealed this in an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia's Walter Fernandez.

The Jemaah Islamiyah group here was very secretive.

But Singapore's so small that it was only a matter of time before someone talked, and the authorities penetrated their veil of secrecy.

Mr Wong says when the authorities learnt that Singaporean Mohd Aslam had been arrested in Afghanistan, they swung into action.

Several people were interviewed on December 8th, and on the following day, the first arrests were made.

More people were taken in later, the last on December 24th but by then, some suspects had fled the country.

Mr Wong said: "It's not a movie, where you plan nicely and you know who everybody is involved in the group and you move in and you smash the whole lot of them.

"As the investigation progresses, you get to know who are the people related to that organisation, what the people involved are doing and from there they move step by step.

"It's not a matter of identifying here are the 15 people, and moving straight in and nabbing all 15. It doesn't happen like that. It may be that way in the movies."

Mr Wong, however, refused to say how many terrorist suspects are on the run.

Meanwhile, the 13 who have been detained, are being held at Whitley Detention Centre.

The authorities are talking to them, and investigating any new leads they uncover.

However, Mr Wong says no further arrests have been made so far.

The families of the 13 detainees are allowed to visit them each week and bring them books to read.

Several Muslim groups are also providing support and financial help to the families.

Taking a broader perspective, Mr Wong says he does not expect the arrests to harm race relations.

The Home Affairs Minister said: "This is not committed because of race reasons. Or religious reasons. This is purely a group of terrorists, wanting to perpetuate terrorism in this part of the world.

"And it doesn't just happen in Singapore, Jemaah Islamiyah is also found in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines."

And Singapore, he says, is prepared to do what ever is necessary, to prevent terrorist activities here.

Mr Wong also believes that the arrests will not scare away foreign investors.

He said: "If they see that we take tough action and deal with this thing firmly, they know that Singapore can be safe. In fact, if you look around us, you'll see Singapore's still the safest place."

And the Home Affairs Minister's message to Singaporeans: "Life must go on. Singaporeans must not be paranoid about what is happening, in Singapore, arising from the arrests of this group. They have to carry on life as per normal."