MINISTER SHAFIE ON EAST SABAH SITUATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUALA LUMPUR 000332 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2016 TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV MY SUBJECT: MINISTER SHAFIE ON EAST SABAH SITUATION Classified By: Ambassador Christopher J. LaFleur for reasons 1.5 (b & d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Minister of Domestic Trade Shafie Apdal and Ambassador LaFleur discussed IPR enforcement, planned new regulations on distributive trade, and the security situation in eastern Sabah state. Economic issues will be reported septel. Shafie said he receives special intelligence reports on eastern Sabah, the district he represents in parliament. He maintained that Malaysian military forces have the situation under control on their side of the border, but acknowledged the challenge of stopping people sneaking in from the Philippines or Indonesia. In his view, the only long term solution is to create more economic opportunities in the southern Philippines. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador LaFleur, accompanied by economic counselor and trade officer, called on Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) Shafie Apdal February 24. Economic issues will be covered septel. This message reports Shafie's views on the security situation in eastern Sabah, where Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia meet. Shafie grew up in and represents the District of Semporna, which includes Sipadan Island, where the Philippine Muslim separatist group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped several tourists. ¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador reported that he had recently visited Sandakan in eastern Sabah to view a U.S. military funded project to repair motors for Malaysian maritime patrol craft. Shafie said he would like to encourage more tourism in the region. The Ambassador responded that he would like nothing more than to encourage more Americans to visit Sabah, but that as far as Sabah's east coast was concerned it would be difficult to see this while the security situation in that specific area remained unsettled. The U.S. was working with Malaysian authorities to address these problems and hopefully the situation would improve. ¶4. (C) Shafie said that in his previous position of Deputy Defense Minister he used to receive regular intelligence reports on the security situation in eastern Sabah. He arranged to continue receiving a monthly intelligence update in his current job. "I want to be the first on the ground, if something happens," he said. He maintained that Malaysian military forces have the situation under control on their side of the border, but acknowledged the challenge of stopping people sneaking in from the Philippines or Indonesia. Shafie stressed that "you can't eradicate the problem by force. You must use economic methods to re-integrate these people, as we did with the Communist insurgency." He suggested that there needed to be meetings and discussions to "bring everyone in and consider their views. They must see that their opinions are taken into consideration." He concluded that the long term solution would be to create economic opportunities in the southern Philippines that would provide an alternative to violence. LAFLEUR