A Malay Muslim organisation which has forecast a war between Singapore and Malaysia within three years is openly using the Internet to recruit "field operatives" with a military background.

Several of the stated aims and articles featured on the Harimau organisation website are similar to the objectives of the militant Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the focal group in the arrest of more than 30 suspected terrorists in Singapore.

A government report on the latest 21 arrested said their targets included vital water supply pipelines from Malaysia, and among their aims was to stir up ethnic strife claiming Chinese Singaporeans were threatening Malay-Muslims in Malaysia.

A feature article on the Harimau website is headlined "Nations on the brink of war: Singapore and Malaysia" and carries the prediction that Singapore will invade Malaysia in 2005.

Harimau, which claims links to organisations in several countries, has not been tied by the Singapore government to JI and home affairs ministry staff were not available for comment today.

Links to Osama

Intelligence agencies say JI has cells throughout Southeast Asia as well as direct lines to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda. Several of the suspected tertorists held in Singapore are accused of being trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Political commentator Seah Chiang Nee, who first published details of Harimau on his Littlespeck website early last year, said it was not known if Harimau was the JI's online recruitment channel

"It may just be an incredible coincidence. Personally, I have my suspicion," he said.

The website continues to recruit young men for training as "field operatives" and people with a military background will be highly considered.

Although Harimau.org has a registrant address in Johor, the southern Malaysian state neighbouring Singapore, its email address is Indonesian.

The headline on its website reads: "Overthrow the PAP" the acronym by which Singapore's ruling People's Action Party is commonly referred.

A sub-heading reads: "PAP stirring Malaysia's racial cauldron of discontent".

In various countries

Under job opportunities, Harimau calls for physically fit men aged 19-35 for nine months of basic training before being "assigned to Harimau linked groups located in various countries."

Recruits must be low-profile by nature, "extremely loyal to (the) cause", non attached, and once accepted "you are expected to stay for life. The organisation is your family."

Harimau says it is a Malay organisation promoting close relationships between Malays in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore and "determining the possible external and internal threats that may arise against Malays in each country in particular, and the region in general. Recommending counter-measures to be taken to neutralise the threats."

According to the Singapore government, JI's ultimate goal is to create an Islamic state covering Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the southern Philippines island of Mindanao and Brunei.

Although Harimau's official religion is Islam, it says religion will not be the basis of any activity carried out by the group.

Political analyst Seah said the Harimau articles contain "plenty of racial provocation".

The article prophesying war between Singapore and Malaysia says "Malays are totally different from Chinese in every respect, be it culture or religion. There is no way that both races can coexist peacefully."

Most recent article

One article talks of the "ugly Chinese" and another ended with a "Hail to Japan" saying that if the Japanese had not gone to war "Asia would today still be bowing to the British and European Running Dogs."

The most recent article, posted two weeks ago, says the United States is on the brink of declaring war on Iraq, later Iran, Libya, North Korea and China and warns "Americans should beware. It is better that (President George W.) Bush be deposed rather than Americans be unnecessarily decimated. There is much resistance throughout the whole word and America should take extreme heed. AFP