Well, the longer Mas Selamat Kastari (MSK for short) is on the run, the juicier the conspiracy theories that are spun.

This is one version I heard and it goes like this:

MSK didn’t really escape * gasp *, and he is actually still safely in the custody of the ISD. All of these is actually just an elaborate ruse with some specific purposes.

Firstly, there is one last known JI operative still on the run. They are using MSK to bait this guy out of hiding. If this guy even so much as try and make contact with MSK or some hitherto unknown JI cells in Singapore, the security forces in South East Asia will be all over him like bad smell before he even knows it.

Secondly, the ISD released several JI detainees not long ago in January, and this might also be a litmus test to see how they react, and to see if there’s any reason they should detain them again.

Finally, the ISD may want to detain certain people, who are suspected to be members of JI sleeper cells. However, being sleeper cells, that means they have done nothing that would be a threat to national security. Therefore, the ISD cannot at this moment detain them on mere suspicion alone. They would need some solid evidence to work on, and should these cells activate to try and aid their on-the-run leader, then the ISD will then have sufficient grounds to detain these members.

And that will really be a big coup for our security services… and that’s really so Sun Tzu – you make yourself look weak so your enemies under-estimates you and make a mistake.

The human mind is a scary thing, indeed. Now get back to work… I am just putting down in words some of the garbage I have gathered over several MSN and coffee shop chats.