EAP-MTS OFFICE DIRECTOR YUN'S MEETINGS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000830 SIPDIS FOR EAP/MTS AND INR E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MY SUBJECT: EAP-MTS OFFICE DIRECTOR YUN'S MEETINGS WITH MALAYSIAN OFFICIALS Classified By: Political Counselor Brian D. McFeeters for reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In October 1 meetings with visiting EAP/MTS Director Yun, Malaysian Foreign and Home Affairs officials stressed their desires for improved U.S.-Malaysian relations on bilateral and regional issues. Malaysian MFA officials assessed that the highest levels of GOM wanted better ties with the U.S., although lower levels had not quite gotten the message. They drew attention to security challenges in southern Thailand and Mindanao, and described tensions between Indonesia and Malaysia as "overblown." Senior officials at the Home Ministry focused on their ongoing efforts to combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP), acknowledging frankly that the GOM still has a way to go, especially in coming to terms with labor trafficking. They emphasized that the TIP problem must be addressed within the context of immigration control and that cooperation from neighboring countries was essential. End Summary. MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS -------------- ¶2. (C) In an October 1 meeting with visiting EAP/MTS office director Joe Yun, Adnan Othman, Under Secretary for Southeast Asia in the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, generally praised the U.S.-Malaysia relationship, noting specifically our close MIL-MIL ties and intel-sharing, but added that "it (the relationship) can be more than it is". Othman, whose brief covers Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei, said that while it was clear that the highest levels of the GOM wanted U.S.-Malaysian relations to be upgraded substantially, difficulties existed in changing the mindset of his colleagues, as many were "still living in a cold war mentality." ¶3. (C) Othman said that regionally, southern Thailand is Malaysia's biggest concern, as the Malaysia-Thai border is porous and difficult to control. The security problems between Bangkok and southern Thai insurgents have not improved since 2004. Particularly intractable was that the Thai Army and Thai Police are fighting a turf battle over resolution of the insurgency. U/S Othman said that his government's position is that "Malaysia must engage" in southern Thailand, and expressed concerns that if KL did not, some of the religious tension could cross into Malaysia. ¶4. (C) Shifting to the Philippines, U/S Othman said that Malaysia, as facilitator for the peace process in Mindanao, wanted the GOP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to talk to each other, but progress has been very slow. MILF, he explained, had strong backing from the local populace; Manila must acknowledge this support and give Mindanao complete local autonomy. Othman believed that the deployment of U.S. Special Forces was helping the situation, as their presence stops the Filipino military from getting out of control. ¶5. (C) U/S Othman assessed that relations with Indonesia were generally good, and that recent tensions over the Ambalat islands played out in the media were overblown. Regarding other territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Othman said that Malaysia felt content to let the status quo stand, as it prevented anyone, especially China, from gaining significant advantage over the others; any attempt to shift the balance was "not worth the trouble". Othman said that the best way to resolve the border disputes in the South China sea and Ambalat islands is to go through the International Court of Justice. MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Senior Deputy Secretary General of the Home Ministry Raja Azhar discussed Malaysia's recent anti-trafficking efforts. He explained that the GOM had expended significant efforts on combating sex trafficking but acknowledged a need to improve in the fight against labor trafficking. He noted that in order to effectively combat TIP, Malaysia needed coordination and cooperation with its neighbors. Malaysia,s problems with undocumented workers were caused by economic and political instability in neighboring countries. ¶7. (SBU) Raja Azahar identified labor outsourcing companies as a major contributor to the TIP problem in Malaysia. He noted that there are approximately 277 such companies sending workers to Malaysia, from countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam, and estimated that as many as two-thirds of them KUALA LUMP 00000830 002 OF 002 were not legitimate. A major problem in enforcement is that the majority of the suspected fraudulent companies are not based in Malaysia but are based in neighboring countries. For a sizable fee, these companies bring migrants to Malaysia but do not match them up with jobs upon arrival. This further contributes to the numbers of individuals in Malaysia vulnerable to trafficking. Raja Azahar explained that the GOM is currently investigating these labor outsource companies and hopes to close a majority of the obviously fraudulent companies by the end of the first quarter of 2010. However, he did add that he does not for foresee completing the entire investigation until the end of 2010 noting that such a long time frame is necessary to collect evidence to properly distinguish the legitimate companies from the fraudulent ones. The goal is to cancel the licenses of the fraudulent operations and significantly reduce the number of illegitimate labor outsource companies sending workers to Malaysia. ¶8. (SBU) Raja Azahar also noted that the GOM is renovating an old immigration detention facility at KL International Airport to be a shelter for up to 600 male victims of TIP. He acknowledged that with the estimated 1 million illegal migrants in Malaysia, such a facility was insufficient to address the problem. KEITH