THE response of Singaporeans to the escape of Mas Selamat Kastari, a Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader, received an A+ on Tuesday.

Minister Lim Swee Say, who described the escape as a test in inter-racial cohesion, said Singaporeans passed it 'with flying colours'.

He said people worked as one, without any finger-pointing, to search for the former chief of the Singapore JI cell.

'Did they take a position based on their racial or religious groups and draw the line? They did not,' he pointed out.

Mr Lim, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, was speaking to about 250 grassroots and community leaders at an event hat underlines Singapore's unrelenting effort to maintain racial harmony.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.