KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari, one of the region's most wanted terrorists, was nabbed while he was sound asleep in a secluded kampung house in Skudai, Johor.

The Singaporean terrorist who captured world attention when he escaped from the republic's maximum security Whitley Detention Centre in February last year, could barely put up a fight in his shorts and T-shirt when caught during a dawn raid in April.

Described as highly dangerous, the 48-year-old Mas Selamat who was trained in firearms and explosives, was said to be masterminding "unrest" in several countries in the region.

The Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader of the Singapore chapter, who had a S$1mil (RM2.4mil) bounty on his head, had been living the life of a simple villager without arousing the suspicions of villagers there.

(The radical JI movement with key figures such as religious scholar Abu Bakar Basyir and Hambali was linked to Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden.

While Abu Bakar, who was jailed and then freed had denied any involvement in terrorist activities, Hambali is still being detained at the infamous Guatanamo Bay.

The movement, which aimed to set up a Pan Islamic state comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines, was said to have carried out several bombings in Jakarta, Bali and Manila).

Regional intelligence sources said Mas Selamat, who escaped the maximum security detention centre by climbing out through the toilet window, fled to the northern part of Singapore before swimming across to Johor.

Mas Selamat managed the feat despite having leg injuries.

His escape greatly embarrassed the Singapore Government which then launched a massive manhunt, described as the largest ever in the republic, for him.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan confirmed Mas Selamat's arrest and detention under the ISA.

"He was planning something and that led to our arresting him," Hishammuddin told a press conference.

He said Malaysian police were working with Singaporean and Indonesian authorities on the investigations, and declined to say when exactly the fugitive was nabbed.

"There are certain things of national interest that do not just involve Malaysian intelligence but can affect our work with the other two countries like in this case and with Germany, the United States and Britain in the case of Al-Qaeda," Hishammuddin said.

Musa said the arrest was made possible as police in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia had been sharing intelligence reports over the past year.

"We have been in contact with our international counterparts who were informed about the arrest as well as what we have gathered from Mas Selamat since his arrest last month.

"Our officers are still investigating his activities and networking," he added.

It is learnt that Special Branch officers had been working on various leads since March and upon confirming his whereabouts planned the dawn raid that resulted in his arrest.

Mas Selamat who was arrested in 2006 in Bintan, Indonesia, was accused of wanting to crash a plane into Changi International Airport's control tower using either an American, British or Singapore Airlines aeroplane.

He was deported to Singapore where he managed to escape.