-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A terrorism suspect -- whose 2008 escape from Singapore launched a global manhunt -- has been arrested in Malaysia , according to authorities there . An public alert posted at a supermarket for Mas Selamat Kastari on March 1 , 2008 , in Singapore . Mas Selamat Kastari , suspected leader of the Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiyah 's Singapore arm , was arrested April 1 in Johor state in Malaysia , near the border of Singapore , Malaysian police said . Authorities have interrogated him and are sharing the information with police in the region , Malaysian law-enforcement officials said . `` It 's very good he 's been caught , but it 's important to remember there are many other fugitives still at large , not -LRB- the -RRB- least , Noordin Moh Top , '' said Sidney Jones , South East Asia director for the International Crisis Group . Noordin is a Malaysian thought to be behind the region 's most recent major attacks . He belongs to a small splinter group of Jemaah Islamiyah that espouses the use of large-scale terror attacks to push for the establishment of Islamic states in the region . Noordin is a one-time officer , recruiter and bomb-maker for Jemaah Islamiyah , who police say has narrowly escaped their dragnets for years . In the case of Mas Selamat , thousands of security forces fanned out across Singapore after he escaped in February 2008 . Interpol , the organization that helps facilitate cooperation among police agencies around the world , later issued a worldwide security alert for him . Mas Selamat had been arrested in Indonesia and turned over to Singapore , on suspicion of plotting to crash a plane into the country 's airport . Jemaah Islamiyah is thought to have links to al-Qaeda and is suspected of being behind the 2002 nightclub bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed more than 200 mostly Western tourists . Singapore is a strong U.S. ally and one of the world 's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links . Mas Selamet fled the southeast Asian country in 2001 after authorities cracked down on Jemaah Islamiyah and arrested dozens of its members . To retaliate , Mas Selamet plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore 's main airport , Changi , the Home Affairs Ministry said . The plot was not carried out . He also is suspected of being behind plans to attack the U.S. Embassy and a government building . Indonesian authorities arrested Mas Selamet on immigration violation charges in 2003 . Three years later , he was deported to Singapore , the Home Affairs ministry said . He was being held under Singapore 's Internal Security Act , which allows authorities to indefinitely detain someone without trial . Mas Selamet slipped away from a detention center in Singapore after asking to use the toilet before a visit with his family , Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told lawmakers in parliament 2008 . Journalist Baradan Kuppusamy contributed to this report .