When Abdullah Badawi became Malaysia’s prime minister in 2003, many thought the mild-mannered leader would take a more moderate approach to international relations than his prickly predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, who often locked diplomatic horns with the United States and other Western countries.
But a string of scandals and crimes with international dimensions, some even linked to Abdullah’s family members, have put his government’s relations with Washington on an uncomfortable footing.
US authorities last month arrested and charged Pakistani national Jilani Humayun for his alleged role in shipping contraband military goods to Malaysia, from where they were re-exported to Iran. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit money-laundering and mail fraud. The sensitive dual-use hardware, which was funneled through an as yet unnamed Malaysian company, included parts for F-5 and F-14 fighter jets and Chinook helicopters.
In April the US imposed sanctions on 14 companies, individuals and government agencies it accused of dealing in advanced weapon technology with Iran or Syria. Two of the companies listed were Malaysian, the Challenger Corp and Target Airfreight.
Moreover, a federal jury in New York last year convicted Singaporean businessman Ernest Koh Chong Tek of smuggling dual-use US military parts to Malaysia for transshipment to Iran’s military - a violation of the 1995 embargo the US placed on all exports and re-exports of commodities to Iran without approval by the US Office of Foreign Asset Control. He was also charged with laundering millions of dollars through his Singapore bank accounts in the smuggling scheme.
…
US officials who spoke with Asia Times Online would not comment on the investigations involving Malaysia on the grounds that they involve sensitive intelligence information. And so far there is no evidence to link recent violations of the US embargo directly to Abdullah. Yet security analysts say the recent incidents have put the crucial bilateral relationship on edge.
“I am absolutely sure that the US is watching these developments closely and pressing hard on Malaysia behind the scenes,” said Tim Huxley of the Singapore-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.
…
Family matters
Yet the recent security lapses have been traced to the highest echelons of Malaysia’s business and political elite, raising questions about Abdullah’s underlying foreign-policy objectives. There are still huge question marks surrounding the 2004 proliferation case involving Scomi, a company owned by Abdullah’s son Kamaluddin, which was allegedly involved in supplying dual-use technology to Libya’s clandestine nuclear-weapons program.
Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, a Sri Lankan national with Malaysian permanent residency, sat with Kamaluddin on the board of Scomi-linked company Kaspadu. Buhary negotiated the controversial contract, which had Scomi Precision Engineering build components for centrifuges that were destined for use in Libya’s nuclear program. Scomi Group had since acknowledged that its subsidiary Scomi Precision filled a contract negotiated by Buhary to supply machine parts to Libya.
Documents obtained by the Associated Press reveal that Buhary was the chief financial officer of Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan’s underground nuclear-proliferation network. How he was able to forge such high-powered alliances with Malaysia’s political elite is a question that remains unanswered. When the scandal broke, Abdullah said Tahir would remain free because there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
Months later, in May 2004, Buhary was arrested under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial. Opposition leaders at the time accused Abdullah of detaining Tahir under the ISA rather than pursuing standard criminal procedures lest Kamaluddin be implicated. Now, Buhary’s whereabouts are unclear.
…
Diversified diplomacy
None of these scandals, of course, were necessarily state-sanctioned. Yet they have notably come at a time when Malaysia’s governing elite has shown resistance to democratic reform, clean governance and cultural pluralism, while strengthening ties with non-democratic states like Iran, Sudan and Russia.
It’s apparently all part of a larger foreign-policy shift, which Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said in May would help Malaysia “avoid being too dependent on one particular segment” of the global economy – read by some as a reference to the US, which currently receives nearly 16% of Malaysia’s exports.
Abdullah’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin this month attempted to silence an opposition leader by labeling him “a puppet of the United States and the Jews”. Meanwhile, Abdullah’s information chief and other ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) elites have recently moved to intimidate bloggers and Web portals for exposing high-level government corruption.
…
To be sure, it could all be politics as usual. Amid Malaysia’s ethnic- and religious-tinged political landscape, UMNO politicians are wont to pander to Muslim sentiment, while cooperating with the US and West behind the scenes. Even as former strongman Mahathir blustered on about US-led neo-colonialism and protecting Malaysia’s national sovereignty, he simultaneously forged close military ties with the US.
For instance, the two sides in 1994 signed an acquisitions and cross-servicing agreement that allows US Navy ships to visit Malaysian ports for repair and replenishment. The contract was most recently renewed in 2005, during Abdullah’s tenure. Each year, US Special Forces train at Malaysia’s jungle-warfare school, and bilateral military-to-military cooperation is growing rather than diminishing. And the administration of US President George W Bush has generally applauded Malaysia’s security and counter-terrorism efforts.
Muted complaints
Nevertheless, some quarters are growing more wary of Malaysia’s geopolitical role.
“The UK has become more circumspect of dealing with Malaysian leadership,” said Alexander Neill, head of the Asia Security Program at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. He said in particular the recent zealously Islamic statements by senior Malaysian leaders “are problematic to a counter-terrorism policy”.
There are other geopolitical differences. For instance, while the US and other Western governments fret about the unfolding genocide in Sudan, Malaysia has recently invested heavily in the regime’s petroleum resources. Abdullah also cemented military and energy ties with Russia during a visit there in June, according to Foreign Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek. Some have suggested that that overture could be designed to counterbalance the close economic and military ties the US shares with Malaysian neighbor and rival Singapore. Ahmad has denied that Malaysia is in any way becoming a proxy for Russian influence in the Southeast Asian region.
…
Source: Asia Times
