September 20, 2002	Friday	Rajab 12, 1423

SINGAPORE, Sept 19: Suspected terrorists arrested in Singapore were planning to cripple military and other crucial targets as part of a plan to overthrow the Malaysian government and create an Islamic state there, the Singapore government said on Thursday.

It was to be the first step towards their ultimate goal of creating an Islamic state covering Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, the government said in a report backgrounding the arrest of 21 suspected terrorists last month.

Most were from the same Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) organization as 13 other suspected terrorists arrested last December.

They wanted to create another “Ambon”, the government said, referring to the Indonesian city where more than 5,000 people have been killed since 1999.

“The aim was to create a situation in Malaysia and Singapore conducive to overthowing the Malaysian government and making Malaysia an Islamic state.

“The attacks on key Singapore installations would be portrayed as acts of aggression by the Malaysian government, thereby generating animosity and distrust between Malaysia and Singapore.”—AFP