AMBASSADOR KEITH'S OCTOBER 4 MEETING WITH MFA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001492

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC BM MY
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR KEITH'S OCTOBER 4 MEETING WITH MFA
SECGEN RASTAM

REF: A. A) KUALA LUMPUR 1484

B. B) STATE 137644

C. C) KUALA LUMPUR 1476

D. D) KUALA LUMPUR 1470

E. E) KUALA LUMPUR 1386

F. F) KUALA LUMPUR 1375

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JAMES R. KEITH FOR REASONS 1.4 (B AND D)


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Keith raised Burma during his
initial courtesy call on MFA SecGen Rastam, urging that ASEAN
support an October 5 UNSC meeting and a prospective
Presidential Statement from the Council on Burma.
Sidestepping the issue of a statement, Rastam reiterated
Malaysian frustration with Burma but also reiterated the
GOM's interest in seeing what Gambari has to report before
taking any action. ASEAN was considering what steps to take
in connection with the November ASEAN Summit, he indicated,
underlining his sense that ASEAN's reputation and credibility
were on the line. On other subjects, Rastam said the
U.S.-Malaysia bilateral relationship was going well, adding
that he had heard from New York that ASEAN leaders agreed in
principle to the U.S.-ASEAN summit with President Bush and
that they were now looking at possible dates. He hoped we
could move forward on FTA talks, appreciated U.S. support for
the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counterterrorism
(SEARCCT),and suggested that the U.S. work harder at
attracting Malaysian students. He also commented that some
Malaysians still feel that they are ill-treated at U.S. ports
of entry. End Summary.

Burma
--------------

2. (C) Ambassador Keith expressed appreciation for ASEAN's
strong statement on Burma, noted that we are looking for an
October 5 UNSC meeting to discuss Burma, and urged that ASEAN
support the issuance of a President's statement in connection
with the meeting. He added that we hoped that the statement
would note ASEAN's leading role on the Burma issue. Rastam
replied that the ASEAN statement reflected member states'
frustration with Burma's behavior. Burma is an embarrassment
to ASEAN, he continued, and when you get to a situation in
which the credibility of the organization is at stake,
something must be done. He expressed disappointment with the
failure to get Tan Shwe to meet with Aung Sang Suu Ki during
the Gambari visit but noted that they both deeply hated each
other. ASEAN would consider next steps once they had heard
Gambari's report to the UNSC, Rastam said. The ASEAN Summit
convenes in November, he added, and the ASEANs are fully
conscious of the world's focus on the organization. He said
he was unaware of any concrete proposals yet, but we'll have
to find ways to arrive at a lasting solution. The SecGen
indicated that while the generals may want to calm the
situation, the opposition could raise tensions further
because it believes it has the world's attention. It could
get messy, Rastam remarked, because certain conditions will
need to be met, for example the release of political
prisoners. He added, looking to the future, but without
elaboration, that the generals would need assurances that
they would not be prosecuted if they stepped down. (Comment:
Rastam may simply have been thinking out loud rather than
predicting or projecting that particular outcome. End
Comment.)

Other Issues
--------------

3. (C) Rastam reported that U.S.-Malaysia bilateral
relations were good. He hoped the two sides could conclude
an FTA and that U.S. investment in Malaysia would increase.
He expressed appreciation for U.S. support for SEARCCT. He
also thanked the Ambassador for FBI support in enhancing a
surveillance video that is evidence in a high profile
Malaysian murder case. Rastam declared that the number of
Malaysian students in the U.S. had fallen since a high in the
1980s and hoped that the U.S. would do more to attracted
Malaysians. He also hoped that more American students would
study in Malaysia. In concluding, Rastam recognized the
efforts Embassy Kuala Lumpur had made to streamline visa
issuance but claimed that Malaysians were still being
mistreated at U.S. ports of entry. He recalled that when he
was stationed in New York several years ago a Malaysian state
Chief Minister visiting New York had been interviewed at the
Port of Entry and had told him he would never visit the U.S.
again as a result. The Ambassdor underlined our commitment
to customer service, emphasized the dramatic improvement in

KUALA LUMP 00001492 002 OF 002


our service since 2001, and urged the SecGen to be in direct
communication if such issues were to arise again.


4. (C) The Ambassador recalled our appreciation for the high
quality of the strategic dialogue that the SecGen had
initiated with A/S Hill, conveyed the A/S's best wishes, and
urged that a time be set for resumption of the dialogue.
Rastam was non-committal in reply. The Ambassador also
expressed appreciation for the positive signals that we had
heard from the Acting Director of Protocol regarding
potential progress in our effort to secure reciprocal
agreement for Embassy spouses to work in our respective
countries.
KEITH