U.S. AND MALAYSIA SIGN MEGAPORTS INITIATIVE MEMORANDUM OF

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 000145

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MTS - MIKE TAYLOR
DOE FOR NNSA/OFFICE OF THE SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EWWT ETRD PREL KNNP KTIA MY
SUBJECT: U.S. AND MALAYSIA SIGN MEGAPORTS INITIATIVE MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING


1. On February 27, 2008, the United States and Malaysia signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) to begin implementing the
Megaports Initiative in Malaysia. The ceremony took place at
Westport, which along with Northport constitute Port Klang,
Malaysia's largest port and the initial location for Megaports'
implementation in Malaysia. The MOU was signed by Ambassador Keith
on behalf of the U.S. and by Dato Seri Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Hamid,
Director General of Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC),on behalf of
Malaysia.


2. The MOU culminated an effort dating back to 2004 to include
Malaysia as a Megaports partner. Although the Malaysian Cabinet
initially had approved Malaysia's participation, the U.S. and
Malaysia were unable to reach an agreed MOU text until late 2007.
The Malaysian Cabinet finally approved the MOU text in January 2008.



3. The Malaysians responsible for making Megaports operational at
Port Klang were eager to make up for the delay in getting the MOU
approved. Following the signing ceremony, Elly Melamed and Jeff
Miller, of the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA),Office of the Second Line of Defense, along
with David Smith of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and
Michael Daniels of Sandia National Laboratories and econoff, met
with Malaysian officials and the port operators to set the stage for
implementation. RMC will continue to be the lead Malaysian agency
for the initiative, working closely with the Atomic Energy Licensing
Board and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.


4. The GOM officials told the U.S. delegation that they would
facilitate the U.S. team's implementation of Megaports. Their
detailed questioning of the U.S. team indicated they already have
been considering various implementation options. Representatives
from both Westport and Northport also expressed eagerness to
implement the initiative. In subsequent tours of both ports, the
U.S. team noted that the layout of the ports was particularly
favorable to a robust implementation of Megaports.


5. NNSA is optimistic that Megaports can be fully implemented at
Port Klang within one year. Miller, Smith and Daniels are planning
to undertake a detailed technical survey of Westport and Northport
in early April, to be followed by a detailed engineering plan.
NNSA's lead U.S. contractor then would seek a Malaysian
subcontractor to perform the necessary construction work, to begin
in early fall.


6. As Megaports implementation gets underway at Port Klang, NNSA and
the Embassy will push Malaysia to agree to expand Megaports to the
Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in the southern state of Johor. PTP
is a relatively new port that has quickly grown larger than either
Northport or Westport (unlike the Port Klang operations, PTP largely
handles transshipments). A PTP representative who attended the
Megaports signing and subsequent meetings told the U.S. delegation
that the PTP authority hoped that PTP would be included in the
Megaports initiative as soon as possible.


KEITH