MALAYSIANS ON BORDER CONCERNED, BUT NOT ALARMED

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000318

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP AND DS/ITA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MOPS ASEC TH MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIANS ON BORDER CONCERNED, BUT NOT ALARMED
OVER SOUTH THAI VIOLENCE

REF: A. 06 KUALA LUMPUR 1764 - NO TEARS FOR THAKSIN


B. 06 KUALA LUMPUR 1976 - SURAYUD'S VISIT

C. KUALA LUMPUR 263 - MALAYSIA SAFE HAVEN FOR
INSURGENTS

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b
and d).

Summary
--------------


1. (S) Malaysian politicians and police officials in
northern border states, in meetings with polchief February
5-9, expressed concern but not alarm over continued violence
in Thailand's ethnic Malay south. Interlocutors viewed the
violence in Thailand as having little or no spill-over effect
into Malaysia, despite a visibly porous border and
acknowledgment that insurgents use Malaysia as a refuge.
Malaysians of all walks appeared resigned to violence
continuing in southern Thailand for the foreseeable future.
Malaysian police affirmed matter-of-factly that they have
their own assets inside Thailand who provide useful
intelligence. Police asserted that they received no recent
official requests from Thailand for the return of wanted
militants, in part because of the cumbersome, time-consuming
procedures required under Malaysian law. Fear of violence
has curtailed cross-border traffic in Kelantan. Following
the February 18-19 bombings across the border, Malaysia
warned its citizens to stay out of southern Thailand. End
Summary.

Sympathy for Malays, but No Support for Separatists
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Polchief met with senior politicians, top police
officials and civil society members in Malaysia's northern
border states of Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Kelantan during the
period February 5-9. In over a dozen separate meetings,
these Malaysians almost uniformly expressed concern and
sympathy for ethnic Malay Muslims, viewed as caught up in the
violence in southern Thailand. Malaysians placed significant
blame on the Thai Government and Thai security forces for
creating conditions that led to unrest. No one we
encountered, however, voiced support for Thai Malay militants
or separatist goals. While most Malaysians hoped that their
government could play a peace-making role, none spoke out
forcefully or emotionally to argue for Malaysia to intervene
without Thailand's consent. Politicians representing the
dominant UMNO party and the opposition All-Malaysia Islamic
Party (PAS, the Islamist party which controls the Kelantan
state government) said that the southern Thailand situation
was not a pivotal voting issue for their constituents.
Almost all Malaysians we encountered readily admitted the
occasional presence of Thai Malay militants in Malaysia, but
most described this as a natural outcome of having family and
ethnic ties in Malaysia, rather than representing an
organized support service or any active assistance from
within their country. Although all believed the post-Thaksin
government in Bangkok had adopted more conciliatory rhetoric,
opinions varied as to whether this would translate into
significant changes in Bangkok's actions. Noting the
increasingly complex nature of the conflict, Malaysians of
all walks appeared resigned to violence continuing in
southern Thailand for the foreseeable future.


3. (C) Husam Musa, de-facto Deputy Chief Minister for
Kelantan state (largely responsible for running the state
government on a daily basis) and an up-and-coming leader of
the opposition All-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS),proved the
most reluctant to share his views on the cross-border
situation. Speaking in his office, Husam refused to be drawn
into a discussion of the border situation, quickly asserting
that there was no connection between matters in Kelantan and
southern Thailand, and that what happened inside Thailand was
strictly Thailand's affair. (Comment: We interpreted
Husam's remarks largely as a reaction to occasional
allegations that the Islamist PAS government was overly
sympathetic and perhaps secretly supportive of Thai Malay
separatists. We heard no such allegations during this visit,
however, even from PAS opponents. End Comment.) In
contrast, other more senior PAS leaders, including Speaker of
the Kelatan State Assembly Wan Rahim and PAS Commissioner for
Kedah State Azizan Abdul Razak, did not shy away from sharing

KUALA LUMP 00000318 002 OF 003


their views on southern Thailand, which echoed those of other
Malaysians (above).

Party Line: No Spill-Over
--------------


4. (S) Top police officials in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan
states, including state-level Special Branch chiefs, stated
that Malaysia experienced very little or no spill-over
effects from violence across the border, though some believed
there would be a risk if the violence continued over the
longer term or increased. The risks would include
cross-border criminal activity and narcotics trafficking.
While most police officials boasted of Malaysia's ability to
control its side of the border, they also readily
acknowledged that Thai Malays, including some militants,
frequently crossed into Malaysia and worked illegally in the
country. The fact that the Malays on either side of the
border are virtually indistinguishable from one another made
immigration enforcement extremely difficult. (Comment:
Malaysia has announced its intention to proceed together with
Thailand on a biometric identification system, part of an
effort to end dual nationality among border residents and
strengthen border control. Malaysia does not recognize dual
nationality. End Comment.) Police recognized Kelantan, in
theory, as the most vulnerable border state due to its
proximity to violence-prone areas in Thailand.

Malaysian Assets Inside Thailand
--------------


5. (S) Police officials explained that their confidence in
their ability to protect Malaysia from the ill-effects of the
southern Thai violence rested in part on Malaysia's good
intelligence network within Thailand. This included
Malaysian "assets" within Thailand's border areas, the police
noted matter-of-factly. In response to polchief's questions,
police officials said they had received no recent requests
from Thailand to return wanted militants. Malaysia would
insist on Thailand following Malaysia's lengthy and
cumbersome legal procedures for such extradition requests,
and would no longer carry out informal renditions. In the
context of this discussion, several police officials recalled
past incidents of Thai security forces carrying out
extrajudicial killings of suspected militants after they had
been turned over by Malaysian officials.

Kelantan Elites Curtail Visits
--------------


6. (SBU) Malaysian officials in Kelantan described a
significant downturn in registered border crossings since the
resurgence of violence in Thailand. Kelantan elites told us
that, because of the risk of shootings and bombings, they had
largely stopped traveling across the border for shopping or
recreation (such as nightclubs, brothels and alcohol, all
illegal and/or largely unavailable to Malays in
Islamist-controlled Kelantan). Malaysians' travel into
Thailand from Perlis and Kedah states appeared largely
unaffected.

Visibly Porous River Boundary
--------------


7. (SBU) Polchief visited Malaysia's relatively populous
Sungai Golok border area in Kelantan and observed multiple
small boats traversing the narrow river, which serves as the
international boundary, without any controls on either side.
Some of the uncontrolled crossings took place within sight of
the formal border crossing point.

Malaysia Warns Its Citizens to Stay Away
--------------


8. (U) Following the February 18-19 bombings in Thailand,
Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, speaking to
reporters February 19 during a Middle East visit, warned
Malaysians to avoid visiting southern Thailand and getting
"caught in the crossfire." Hamid added that, "All these
incidents should be an important indicator for Thailand to
urgently push for peace and stability in the area and
increase security there."


KUALA LUMP 00000318 003 OF 003


Comment
--------------


9. (C) We believe it noteworthy to emphasize what we did not
encounter on this visit to Malaysia's northern border: we
heard no expressions of support for Thai Malay militants,
either their aims or tactics; no calls for urgent
intervention, behind the scenes or otherwise (ref C
represents somewhat of an exception); no rumors against
Malaysia's Islamist party for alleged involvement with Thai
Malay separatists; and no sense of alarm over any potential
impact on Malaysian soil. Our findings tracked well with
those of other diplomats and an international reporter who
also recently visited Kelantan. While Malaysians close to
Thailand are concerned about the violence across the border
and sympathetic to the plight of ethnic Malay Muslims, they
appeared resigned to the unrest continuing in southern
Thailand and relatively assured that Malaysia would remain
insulated from the ill effects.
LAFLEUR