MALAYSIA AND FORWARD THINKING ON THE "DEFAMATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001010 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KISL KDEM PGOV OPDC SUBJECT: MALAYSIA AND FORWARD THINKING ON THE "DEFAMATION OF RELIGION" ISSUE REF: A. STATE 128320 WAY FORWARD ON DEFAMATION ISSUE ¶B. KL 966 MALAYSIA UNLIKELY TO CHANGE ON DEFAMATION RESOLUTION ¶C. KL 900 MALAYSIA BACKS OIC DEFAMATION RESOLUTION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: If approached as part of a joint, transparent outreach effort to Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries, the Government of Malaysia may modify its strong support for the UN "Defamation of Religions" resolution, or a new treaty along the same lines (ref A). In that context, Malaysian officials might hear us out on the need to balance respect for religions with protection of free speech, and could provide needed leadership to change the OIC's views. On the other hand, we see little prospect of splitting Malaysia -- a founding member and recent Chair -- from the existing OIC consensus. It is and for the foreseeable future will be very unlikely that Malaysia could be persuaded to lead a departure from the OIC status quo, but we stand a good chance of persuading KL to follow others toward a new OIC consensus. End Summary. Core Support for the OIC -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Government of Malaysia has made clear that it supports the OIC's 2009 defamation of religions resolution both through its votes ("yes" on all occasions) and in its responses to demarches (refs B, C). Several Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials have responded to our demarches on the issue with puzzlement, saying, in essence, that the defamation issue is important to the OIC, and the OIC is important to Malaysia, so that it would be quite difficult for Malaysia to deviate from the OIC consensus. Pressed about USG concerns that the resolution conflicts with free speech, MFA Under Secretary for Human Rights Rohana Ramli offered to discuss specific wording that the USG found problematic, but did not otherwise give ground (ref B). ¶3. (SBU) The OIC is a central component in Malaysia's world view. Malaysia was a founding member in 1969 and its 2003-2007 Chair, with its own ambitious agenda. GOM officials cite the OIC as second only to ASEAN (which does not develop common foreign policy positions) in terms of its importance to Malaysia (although we would add the Non-Aligned Movement to the list). Welcoming the 40th anniversary of the OIC in September, Prime Minister Najib Razak said the organization needed to defend against extremism and Islamophobia internationally. In a December 5 op-ed entitled "Getting to the heart of diplomacy" in the government-influenced "Star" newspaper, MFA Secretary General Mohammad Rastam wrote, "Malaysia continues to play a key role in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which we consider important for promoting cooperation among the Islamic countries." The only other international grouping he mentioned was ASEAN. In addition to the official emphasis on the OIC, the Malaysian public's primary foreign policy concern is the future of Palestine, in line with the OIC's reason for being. For these reasons, appealing to the GOM to depart from the OIC consensus on a core OIC issue (mentioned in the OIC Charter) is unlikely to succeed without a broader strategy that engages directly the OIC and identifies others to lead the change. How to Use Malaysia to Add Momentum -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Malaysia sees itself as a leader within the OIC as well as a potential bridge between the Muslim world and the West. Therefore, an outreach effort to the OIC Secretariat and member countries, including Malaysia, on both defamation of religion and freedom of speech would resonate well here: Article 10 of the Malaysian Constitution provides for freedom of speech, assembly and association (with some limitations); Article 11 provides for freedom of religion. Such an approach to "moderates" in the OIC Secretariat could be framed as a response to OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu's January 20, 2009 letter to President Obama, where he cited the OIC's principle of moderation and modernization, welcomed the appointment of a U.S. Special Envoy to the OIC and called for increased cooperation with the United States. The approach could also reference Ihsanoglu's February 11, 2009 statement, "OIC clarifies its views on the draft resolution on combating defamation of religions," which refers to the need to maintain "...a delicate balance between freedom of opinion and respect for all religions and incitement to hatred." Malaysian officials have not yet commented on the possibility of a treaty to codify the defamation of religions issue (ref A). In the context of an overall approach to the OIC, and presented with convincing arguments, the Malaysian Government might be persuaded to KUALA LUMP 00001010 002 OF 002 join other moderates in the OIC to oppose such a treaty and ask other OIC members to rethink the issue, but only if significant actors within the OIC were publicly identified as first-movers. KEITH