EXBS: MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE/INDONESIA/PHILIPPINES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000243 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL MY SUBJECT: EXBS: MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE/INDONESIA/PHILIPPINES ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE - KUALA LUMP 00000243 001.2 OF 002 SUMMARY ¶1. (U) Advisor met with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MFA)on export control issues. Training was conducted in General Santos, Philippines and dates for a site survey in the Philippines were confirmed. SITE ASSESSMENTS/MEETINGS ¶2. (U) Advisor and Economic Counselor met with Senior Director, Economic and Trade Relations Wong Seng Foo and members of his export control section staff at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI)on March 20, 2009. Wong advised that the Attorney General's Chambers continued its work on Malaysia's draft export control legislation. He noted that there had been five inter-ministerial working level meetings over the past year and that discussions now were focused on how to handle a few key implementation issues in the draft. A key sticking point in the debate over how to handle implementation issues was whether Malaysia should have an overarching export control law or a set of laws that covered specific areas - nuclear, chemical weapons, etc. Some argued that the second approach would make it easier to identify in the legislation the specific government agency responsible for oversight of relevant items, thereby simplifying jurisdiction issues. Wong added that while he hoped the draft would be completed soon, the draft currently was not ready to present to parliament and that no date had been set to put it on parliament's legislative agenda, as the interative drafting process was ongoing. He said MITI expected to have a role in licensing when the system was put into place. Referring back to possible implementation problems the GOM was attempting to address in its draft legislation, MITI staff indicated that they had attempted to look at controlled items vis a vis the Harmonized Tariff System but realized the difficulty in trying to make a correlation between the two. MITI staff indicated they would be interested in some type of training that addressed the technical matters of how to set up a licensing system. Advisor provided course description for Technical Introduction to Licensning to Economic Couselor who in turn transmitted to Wong. ¶3. (U) On March 25, 2009 Advisor met with Shazryll Zahiran, Principal Assistant Secretary, Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). During the meeting Advisor noted that the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) training that was delivered in February received positive evaluations from the attendees. Advisor also informed Shazryll of the meeting with MITI that took place on March, 20, 2009. A copy of a letter which was sent to MFA on March 19, 2009 requesting endorsement for a proposed workshop for Malaysian prosecutors and investigators was also provided. Shazryll asked if he could obtain a copy of the agenda for the workshop and also made inquiry as to where the workshop had been previously presented. Advisor transmitted the requested information on Friday, March 27, ¶2009. Shazryll advised that drafting of the export control legislation was ongoing at the Attorney General's Chambers. He again stated that all training opportunities should be channeled through the MFA and requested that other agencies not be copied or notified of available training until his office approved. Advisor noted that she would be away from Malaysia for approximately 1 month but provided Mr. Zahiran with contact information and assured that she would be happy to address any issues that might arise during her absence. ¶4. (U) EXBS FSN and Economic Assistant at the U.S. Embassy in Manila confirmed to Advisor that the proposed dates of May 18-22, 2009 for a site assessment in the Philippines are acceptable. TRAINING CONDUCTED ¶5. (U) ISIT 2 (International Seaport Interdiction Training) was presented to 25 Customs and Port Authority officials in General Santos, Philippines March 9-13, 2009. The ISIT training was comprehensive, covering topics such as targeting and risk assessment; document review; vessel search techniques; and container examination. Presenters from US Customs and Border Protection effectively engaged the KUALA LUMP 00000243 002.2 OF 002 participants in the classroom and during a practical exercise on container examination that was conducted at the port. The attendees expressed their appreciation for having this training provided in the southern part of the country as opposed to Manila where most training opportunities take place. The participants enthusiastically provided the instructors and Advisor with a tour of the customs office at the port and showed their container x-ray machine. Evaluations of the class were quite positive. IMMINENT TRAINING/EQUIPMENT UPDATE ¶6. (U) Inspection equipment expected to be available for the ISIT training in General Santos, Philippines March 9-13, 2000 was not received in time to be used in the training. The equipment was received at the embassy in Manila during this past week where arrangements will be made for distribution to the appropriate offices in Davao and General Santos. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS ¶7. (U) None KEITH