SCENESETTER FOR ADMIRAL ANWAR'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001834

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2026
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON PTER MY
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR ADMIRAL ANWAR'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David B. Shear for reasons 1.4 b
and d.


1. (C) Admiral Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor, Chief of Malaysian
Defense Forces, will visit the U.S. from September 30 -
October 12. Admiral Anwar's visit provides us with an
excellent opportunity to strengthen our efforts for mil-mil
cooperation, influence Malaysia's military equipment
acquisitions and strengthen our overall ties with a moderate
Muslim nation and economic force in Southeast Asia.


2. (C) Malaysia has been a difficult partner in the past.
Malaysians nurse strong anti-colonial sentiments and (among
the Malay majority) resentment over perceived ill treatment
of Islam by the West. Former Prime Minister Mahathir played
on these sentiments to generate political support for himself
and his ambitious economic agenda. When he relinquished his
post in 2003, he left behind a new economic power but also
strained relations with much of the West. Today, however,
Malaysia presents us with important transformational
opportunities. In terms of its economic development,
educational achievement, public welfare, and political
stability, Malaysia stands out among Muslim-majority nations.
The Malaysians project a moderate version of Islam, and,
over the longer term, could lend additional support to
democratic forces in the Middle East and Iraq. We also share
strong common East Asian regional interests in stability and
prosperity. Malaysian counter-terrorism cooperation is
indispensable in defeating Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in the
region. Malaysia's economy is one of the most open, diverse
and well-developed economies in the Islamic world and in
ASEAN. Malaysia is our tenth largest trading partner, and
economic ties could strengthen
further if ongoing free trade agreement talks succeed.

Malaysia's Moderate Islam
--------------


3. (C) Malaysia, with its entrenched majority coalition, is
hardly an ideal democracy, but it can still serve as a useful
model for evolving Islamic societies elsewhere. The Malay
people, long known for their tolerance, have become more
conservative in recent years, but Prime Minister Abdullah has
enshrined the Malay political elite's continued preference
for moderation in his "Islam Hadhari" or "Civilizational
Islam" policy. Abdullah's key message is that Islam can
become a leading world civilization again only if it embraces
economic development, education, innovation and tolerance.

Malaysian Foreign Policy and US--A Mixed Bag
--------------


4. (S) Abdullah champions his vision--albeit with limited
impact to date--within the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC),which Malaysia currently chairs. Malaysia
supports Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, the MEPP roadmap,
and Iraqi reconstruction. However, the Malaysian public
remains highly critical of our Middle East policies, and the
GOM is consistently critical of Israel, with which it has no
diplomatic relations. As chairman of the OIC, Malaysia
recently volunteered 1,000 troops to participate in UNIFIL.
After more than a month of lobbying, and apparently without
the consent of Israel, UN SYG Annan agreed to allow Malaysia
to send a force of 376 soldiers to support UNIFIL. At the
time of this writing, it is unclear how this issue will be
resolved.


5. (S) In early September, Malaysia surrendered the
chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, and as past chair
remains a member of the leadership troika. During Malaysia's
tenure it championed policies which supported the NAM stance
on the Iranian nuclear program, and engaged, often on overly
friendly terms, with such problematic international players
as Zimbabwe, Cuba and Venezuela. Abdullah hosted Hugo Chavez
for a visit to Malaysia in August, and assured Venezuela of
his support for election to the Latin American chair on the
UN Security Council.


6. (C) As last year's ASEAN Chairman, Malaysia took great
pride in hosting the first East Asia Summit last December.
This summer Malaysia hosted the ASEAN Regional Forum and
Ministerial Conference, attended by Secretary Rice and among
others, LTG Frazier of the office of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. The GOM backs the six-party DPRK nuclear talks and has
criticized North Korea's truculence. The Malaysian government
is publicly supportive of China's "peaceful rise", welcoming
in particular China's growing imports of Malaysian products,

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despite lingering suspicions among some officials of China's
long-term intentions.


7. (C) In Southeast Asia, Malaysia has played an important
and constructive role. In August Malaysia completed its
peacekeeping mission to East Timor following the armed
uprising that led to deployment of Australian, Malaysian and
Portuguese forces. The GOM has also taken the lead in the
southern Philippines peace process, hosting negotiations and
contributing observers to the International Monitoring Team
in the southern Philippine. The Malaysians have urged the
Thai government to resolve peacefully the unrest in Southern
Thailand and are hopeful that the new junta will take a more
conciliatory role in calming their northern border.
Malaysia's recent success initiating regional aerial
monitoring of the Straits of Malacca (the "Eyes in the Sky"
program),has helped reduce piracy in the Straits. Malaysia
is especially chagrined by Burma's intransigence because it
championed Burma's entry into ASEAN. Having publicly
criticized the Burmese regime, though, FM Hamid appears to be
at a loss as to what to do next. Since the ASEAN Regional
Forum, Malaysia has generally taken a hands-off approach.

Bilateral Ties--Improving the Substance
--------------


8. (S) In our bilateral relations, the GOM has begun
matching improvements in tone with improvements in substance.
PM Abdullah has openly espoused improved relations with the
U.S., and values the good rapport he established in his
meetings with the President. In late May, A/S Hill conducted
our first-ever Senior-Level Dialogue with Foreign Ministry
Secretary General Rastam. In July, Secretary Rice also met

SIPDIS
with PM Abdullah, FM Hamid, and most recently, President Bush
met with PM Abdullah on the sidelines of the UNGA in
September. Last year the GOM acceded to our long-standing
urging and signed the IAEA Additional Protocol; the
Malaysians have also recently started sending observers to
recent PSI exercises; and the GOM is preparing to implement
an export control regime. An opening round in the FTA talks
in June went well, but the second round in Washington in July
was not nearly as successful. The third round has been
postponed, and we are waiting for more positive overtures
from the newly installed Secretary General for the Ministry
of International Trade and Industry. It remains unclear if
the two parties can meet the negotiation deadlines and agree
to an FTA.


9. (C) Although they keep the details closely held, the GOM
has been a key regional partner on counterterrorism. Early
round-ups in 2001-2002 of scores of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
suspects helped ensure there have been no terrorist attacks
here. However, Malaysian extremists, as illustrated by a
series of recent arrests in Malaysia's Borneo states, still
have the capability to support JI operations elsewhere. We
and our colleagues in Manila, Jakarta and other Southeast
Asian posts have embarked on a regional effort to strengthen
these countries' border controls. In 2003, Malaysia
established the Southeast Asia Regional Center for
Counterterrorism (SEARCCT),which runs a full schedule of
multilateral training courses, many conducted with U.S.
support.

PM Abdullah's Challenges
--------------


10. (C) Prime Minister Abdullah's main priorities are
sustaining growth in Malaysia's increasingly developed
economy, fighting corruption and encouraging more open,
collegial government. No one doubts his sincerity but his
mild-mannered and cautious approach has led critics to
question his leadership. Now two and one-half years into his
five-year term, Abdullah has appealed to the public for
patience in delivering reform.


11. (C) PM Abdullah currently faces a new problem: in
April, former PM Mahathir began openly attacking his
successor for failing to follow through with many of the
former PM's initiatives. These attacks continued throughout
the summer and will likely not subside any time soon.
Mahathir can no longer dictate policy (unlike Singapore's
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew),but the old brawler continues
to revel in public controversy. Abdullah has so far
maintained an "elegant silence" and tasked others in the
Cabinet to explain his decisions. At this point, Abdullah's
still high popularity and the economy's continued solid
growth should help ensure Mahathir's campaign fails. However,

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Mahathir's public insinuations that the PM and his supporters
are "not Malay enough" may constrain the PM's public
statements on foreign policy issues.


12. (C) Another of many subjects on which Mahathir has
criticized Abdullah is the growing mil-mil cooperation
between the United States and Malaysia, particularly with
regard to the greater frequency of high-visibility ship
visits. We have been pleased by the overwhelmingly positive
media coverage our ship visits have received, in contrast to
the quiet arrivals of past years. The flip side to this is
that our visits are getting increased attention from
ideological foes on the Islamic right, and from Mahahtir,s
opportunistic criticism. Deputy Prime Minister Najib has
stoutly defended our cooperation before Parliament, and we do
not see that our engagement is under threat. However, we do
need to be cognizant of our increased military visibility and
sensitive to GOM concerns, particularly with high tensions in
the Middle East.
LAFLEUR