BURMA: MALAYSIA WAITING ON GAMBARI, NOT FOCUSED ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001484

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC BM MY
SUBJECT: BURMA: MALAYSIA WAITING ON GAMBARI, NOT FOCUSED ON
SANCTIONS

REF: A. STATE 137644 - KEEPING PRESSURE ON THE REGIME

B. KUALA LUMPUR 1476 - UMNO YOUTH PROTEST

C. KUALA LUMPUR 1470 - CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT FAILED

D. KUALA LUMPUR 1386 - NOT ENTHUSIASTIC ON UNSC ROLE

E. KUALA LUMPUR 1375 - AMB'S FAREWELL CALL ON FM

Classified By: Ambassador James R. Keith for reasons 1.4 (b and d).


1. (C) Summary: The Malaysian government is awaiting the
outcome of Gambari's mission and the return of PM Abdullah
before considering next steps on Burma, according to MFA
Secretary General Rastam, who predictably gave no hint of

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support for sanctions in response to our demarche. A
well-connected think tank director told us today that he
thought it was possible that ASEAN would exclude the Burmese
leadership from the ASEAN Summit. Some 2,000 Burmese and
Malaysian protestors again targeted the Burmese, Chinese and
Russian embassies on October 2. Malaysia's mainstream media
continued its attention on Burma and broke its relative
silence on local protests by reporting the October 1 rally
that involved the Prime Minister's son-in-law. The Malaysian
Bar Council issued a statement in support of Burma's
expulsion from ASEAN. End Summary.


2. (C) DCM delivered ref A demarche on keeping pressure on
the Burmese regime to Malaysian Foreign Ministry Secretary
General Rastam Mohd Isa on October 2. DCM emphasized in
particular the need for ASEAN members to take effective
action following their strong September 27 statement, and
highlighted the strengthened U.S. sanctions against regime
leaders, including the assets freeze. Rastam replied that
Malaysia would await the completion of UNSYG Special Advisor
Gambari's current mission to Burma and Prime Minister
Abdullah's return to Malaysia (October 6) before considering
next steps. He noted that Malaysia also looked forward to
Gambari's report to the UN Security Council. Rastam gave no
hint of consideration of sanctions. Instead, he said
encouraging dialogue would be important to ending the
violence in Burma. Countries should pursue such an objective
in a realistic manner. He added that the international
community may need to offer some positive incentives to
encourage and ensure reconciliation within Burma.


3. (C) Polchief also delivered the demarche to the Foreign
Ministry's Southeast Asia and Pacific Division (II).
Principal Assistant Secretary Ismail Haji Salam responded
that the Ministry would not engage in serious discussions on
next steps on Burma until the results of Gambari's mission
were known and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid had returned to
Kuala Lumpur (late on October 4).


4. (C) For what it's worth, the well-informed Asia Strategy
and Leadership Institute Director Dato Michael Yeoh told the
Ambassador today that he thought it possible that ASEAN would
exclude Burmese leaders from the November ASEAN Summit as a
way of following up on the organization's recent UNGA
statement. He noted that ASEAN Foreign Ministers had
excluded their Burmese counterpart from their New York
meeting but added that ASEAN as an institution has no
mechanism for implementing measures such as sanctions. In
response to the Ambassador's query, Yeoh speculated that
ASEAN might arrive at a more indirect approach in which the
ASEANs would signal sufficient difficulty for the Burmese
that Rangoon might decide itself to either stay away or send
low level representation.


5. (U) The Burmese, Chinese and Russian embassies in Kuala
Lumpur were again the target of pro-democracy protests
actions on October 2. Some 2,000 Burmese nationals and
Malaysian activists took part in the peaceful rally,
according to a press account.


6. (U) Malaysia's mainstream media continued its focus on
Burma October 2. The New Straits Times, a daily closely
linked to the leading UMNO party, carried a front page
photograph of a murdered Buddhist monk under the headline,
"Myanmar Silenced -- Massacre of the Holy Men." The
mainstream media also broke its relative silence on local
protest actions by reporting on the October 1 demonstration
at the Burmese embassy involving PM Abdullah Badawi's
son-in-law and UMNO youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin (ref
B).


7. (U) Malaysia's official news agency Bernama carried the
Malaysian Bar Council's October 2 statement condemning the

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violent suppression of protests in Burma. The Bar Council
urged the Malaysian government to support the ASEAN
Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus' call to expel Burma from
ASEAN.
KEITH