MALAYSIA: SPECIAL ADVISOR ON NONPROLIFERATION AND

S E C R E T KUALA LUMPUR 000917


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2019
TAGS: PTER PREL EFIN ETRD ETTC PARM PGOV IR MY KNNP
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA: SPECIAL ADVISOR ON NONPROLIFERATION AND
ARMS CONTROL ROBERT EINHORN'S MEETING WITH SENIOR OFFICIALS
AT MITI, CENTRAL BANK, AND ATOMIC ENERGY LICENSING BOARD,
NOVEMBER 3-4, 2009

Classified By: Ambassador James R. Keith, reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In November 3-4 meetings with senior Atomic
Energy Licensing Board (AELB),Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI),and Bank Negara officials, Special
Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Robert Einhorn
discussed the importance of Malaysia adopting an export
control regime and more closely scrutinizing the activities
of third countries seeking to use Malaysia as a transshipment
point for material used in nuclear and missile programs.
Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz told the delegation that
Malaysia may present to parliament its long-awaited export
control export bill before the end of the year, with possible
passage within six months. According to the AELB, the GoM is
in the final stages of drafting a nuclear regulatory bill
which will give the AELB sole authority to monitor nuclear
material. The U.S. delegation informed Malaysian officials of
the U.S. plan to imminently sanction Iranian Bank Mellat's
Malaysian subsidiary First East Export Bank (FEEB) (Note:
Treasury formally announced the designation of FEEB on
November 5. End Note.) The Malaysians indicated they would
not unilaterally revoke FEEB's conditional operating license,
but that they are prepared to suspend it if there is direct
evidence the bank had violated the conditions of its charter,
including conducting financial transactions with
UN-sanctioned companies. End summary.

U.S. Participants in Economic Meetings:
--------------

Robert Einhorn, Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms
Control (S/SANAC)
Ambassador Susan Burk, Special Representative of the
President for Nuclear Nonproliferation
Raymond "Pepper" Richhart, EAP/MTS Deputy Director
Richard Johnson, Foreign Affairs Officer, S/SANAC
Rob Gile, Foreign Affairs Officer, ISN/CPI
Jennifer Fowler, Department of Treasury, Assistant Director
for Strategic Policy, Terrorist Finance and Financial Crimes
Kevin Kurland, Department of Commerce, Chief of Staff/Export
Administration
Matt Matthews, U.S. Embassy - Kuala Lumpur Economic Counselor
Brian McFeeters, U.S. Embassy - Kuala Lumpur Political
Counselor (not in MITI meeting)
Phillip Loosli, U.S. Embassy - Kuala Lumpur (notetaker for
AELB)
Dave Williams, U.S. Embassy - Kuala Lumpur (notetaker for BN)
Juha Salin, U.S. embassy - Kuala Lumpur (notetaker for MITI)

Meeting at AELB with AELB Chairman Noramly
--------------


3. (SBU) Special Advisor Einhorn and Special Representative
of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation Amb. Susan Burk
had a very constructive meeting with Malaysia's Atomic Energy
Licensing Board (AELB) Chairman Noramly Muslim and Director
General Raja Aziz on November 3, who was joined by Raja Abdul
Aziz Raja Adnan, AELB Director General, Yeoh Siong Hu, AELB
Assistant Director, and Izzatul Shima Md Thahir, Ministry of
Science, Technology and Innovation Principal Assistant
Secretary. Following Einhorn's broad overview of the Obama
Administration's non-proliferation policy, Noramly laid out
AELB's role in Malaysia's export control system and its
ability to control transshipments. Noramly advised that the
GOM is in the final stage of reviewing a new nuclear
regulatory bill, which he expects to pass Parliament in 2010.
He acknowledged that the AELB currently operates under the
1984 Radioactive Substances Act (RSA),which does not
adequately cover a broad range of proliferation-related
activities. He noted that AELB has little oversight for the
transshipment of dual-use technology (although it does
control reexports),except when the supplier voluntarily
informs it, and called for development of a mutual
recognition agreement with suppliers to notify the GOM of
sensitive shipments to free trade zones. Noramly indicated
that under the new nuclear bill, AELB will become the sole
regulatory authority for nuclear material, delegating some
authority to the Ministry of Health as appropriate.


4. (C) Noramly explained that AELB was also playing a key
role with regard to Malaysia's long pending export control
legislation, with Raja Aziz chairing a cross-agency committee
developing a list of dual-use ("strategic goods") items,
given its technical advisory role to MITI for evaluating
end-use/users for direct-use nuclear items under the RSA.
(Note: In a sidebar, Noramly claimed to be "looking" at the
four multilateral export control lists as a basis for the
strategic goods list but said a decision on such issues was
for MFA to decide, since AELB is only a technical reviewer.)
Noramly and Raja Aziz noted the lack of capacity and
expertise within Malaysia to identify items that might be
problematic, especially given Malaysia's lack of experience
in the nuclear field. They requested U.S. assistance in
helping AELB evaluate photographs of questionable materials
for confirmation of their dual-use nature. Malaysia, he
said, is hoping to continue to build its capacity through
linkages with the United States. Raja Aziz has been given
authority to sign a letter of intent with the National
Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) of the Department of
Energy. Noramly will be traveling to the United States later
this month and plans on meeting with Texas A&M University to
establish a training and education relationship through their
program.


5. (SBU) On the subject of international nuclear fuel banks,
Raja Aziz assured Einhorn that AELB does not need convincing
of the merits of this idea. Noramly added that while AELB
has favorably considered the notion of a regional fuel bank,
there were political complications with such an arrangement.
Raja Aziz noted that Malaysia is generally supportive of the
concept, differing from most of its Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) colleagues. Nevertheless, Noramly and Raja Aziz said
that they would not be able to help the United States push
other NAM countries on this issue until the Prime Minister
signed off on Malaysia's domestic policy plan to develop
nuclear power, which should occur next year in conjunction
with passage of the nuclear bill. Noramly said Malaysia's
own civilian nuclear power ambitions are dependent on clear
directions from the PM, which he expects "very soon."
Noramly told Einhorn that the local utility company, Tenaga
Nasional Berhad (TNB),is already laying the groundwork and
Noramly mentioned a timeframe of 10-15 years for the first
power plant with one to four plants planned.


6. (C) Einhorn asked for AELB's assistance in pushing other
GOM ministries to become more open to cooperation with the
United States or other partners on nonproliferation issues.
Noramly responded that this "will take time" because the
other ministries have little understanding of the complex
issues involved with nuclear safeguards. Einhorn told AELB
that the USG has given a "good proposal" to the Iranians but
current signs from their side are not positive. He also
reiterated the United States' interest in offering technical
training and assistance to Malaysia on export control issues,
adding that U.S.-sponsored Commodity Identification Training
could assist the AELB in its request for photographs to help
evaluate dual-use items being exported from Malaysia.

Meeting at the MITI with Deputy Minister Muhkris Mahathir
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Special Advisor Einhorn opened his meeting with Deputy
Minister for International Trade and Industry (MITI) Muhkris
Mahathir (former PM Mahathir's son) on November 3 with a
review of the Obama Administration's approach on
non-proliferation issues, including its outreach to efforts
to Iran. Einhorn emphasized the high importance the Obama
administration placed on the need for all countries to work
together in reducing nuclear threats, and strengthening
international non-proliferation and counter-proliferation
regimes. He asked that Malaysia, as a leader in ASEAN and
the OIC, and as current chair of the IAEA Board of Governors,
play an active role in this process.


8. (S) Deputy Minister Mukhriz, joined by Nik Rahmat Nik
Taib, Senior Director, Sectoral Division, Tay Lee Looi,
Director, America and Europe Section and Razman A. Samah,
Director, Import/Export Control Section, thanked Special
Advisor Einhorn for the new information he passed to MITI
about Iranian-affiliated entities operating in Malaysia that
the USG alleges are facilitating proliferation-related
activity. He promised that the GOM would look into these
cases and the specific entities. Mukhriz said that GOM
shared USG concerns about Iranian companies possibly
exploiting Malaysia as a transshipment platform, or misusing
Malaysia's financial system. He said that while Malaysia
shares the same concerns and often the same goals as the
United States, our approaches in some cases may be different.


9. (C) Einhorn stressed the importance of Malaysia passing
its draft export control law and reiterated that the United
States wanted to work actively with Malaysia on export
control capacity building. He pointed out that while
countries often were concerned that the implementation of
export controls would hurt competitiveness, the opposite was
the case, as Hong Kong and Singapore had discovered. Einhorn
pointed out that Malaysia's delay in passing an export
control law was making it a target for those trying to
circumvent export control restrictions, and there was concern
that Malaysia was becoming the "new Dubai" for illicit
traders. Mukhriz reviewed the progress of Malaysia's export
controls legislation, indicating that the proposed law was
being reviewed by three subcommittees: the MFA for policy,
the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) for technical
issues, and Attorney General's office for legal and
regulatory issues. He said that MITI has submitted comments
on the bill to the Attorney General's office, and that the
bill may be tabled in the parliament before December 23. He
said that he hoped that the law would receive royal consent
by the Malaysian King and go into force within the next six
months. That would enable Malaysia to "act more decisively"
on cases involving abuse of the trade and financial system.


10. (C) On technical capabilities related to export controls,
Mukhriz noted that some specialized detection equipment can
be quite expensive, so Malaysia could consider working
together with the U.S. He agreed with the need for strong
enforcement to accompany the law, but also noted that the
establishment of new laws can be an effective preventive
measure in and of itself if explained well to the public.
Einhorn reiterated that the United States was ready to assist
Malaysia to build its export control operational and
enforcement capacity. Ambassador Keith said that we were
prepared to offer any training in this area that Malaysia
thought would be useful.


11. (C) Commenting on possible Iran sanctions, Mukhriz said
that history proved that sanctions had limited success
because they did not hurt just the ruling government, but
often punish the people as well. With regard to commercial
sanctions, he said that other countries would "be ready to
fill the vacuum" created by firms honoring a ban.
Nevertheless, he said that Malaysia was committed to
non-proliferation. Einhorn agreed that sanctions were most
effective when they were held as a threat, but he noted that
the United States was looking to have a normal relationship
with Iran if its intentions were peaceful and it was ready to
meet the United States halfway. The GOM could help by
engaging Iran because Iran would listen to Malaysia on these
issues.

Meeting at Bank Negara with Deputy Governor Zamani
-------------- --------------


12. (C) The delegation met November 4 with Bank Negara (BN)
Deputy Governor Zamani Abdul Ghani to discuss BN programs to
counter proliferation finance in Malaysia and to inform BN
that the United States planned to designate Iranian Bank
Mellat's Malaysian subsidiary First East Export Bank (FEEB)
on November 5. Zamani, who was joined by Abdul Rahman Abu
Bakar, Manager, Financial Intelligence Unit, told Einhorn and
Treasury's Fowler that FEEB had been issued Malaysia's only
conditional bank license and that if FEEB violated any of the
license's three conditions, the Labuan Offshore Financial
Services Authority (LOFSA) stood ready to immediately revoke
its license. However, the GOM was not prepared to
unilaterally revoke FEEB's license without cause, as that
would violate the Malaysian Federal Constitution as a taking
of private property, according to Zamani. He emphasized
LOFSA monitors each inflow and outflow at FEEB and BN
thoroughly monitors FEEB onshore accounts as well. LOFSA
Senior Director for Bank Supervision Iskandar Mohd Nuli
revealed that he was personally leading the FEEB supervisory
team and that FEEB is listed as Malaysia's number one banking
system security threat. The BN Assistant Governor for Legal
Services added that BN stood ready to act to close FEEB on
evidence of FEEB criminal activity or that FEEB broke one of
the conditions of its license that would stand up in a
Malaysian court. The evidence could not be protected as
classified. Zamani was clear that it would "make my day" if
the United States were to provide BN proof positive of
illicit FEEB activities or get Bank Mellat designated by the
United Nations, removing his biggest supervisory headache.


13. (C) When addressing U.S. concerns regarding the potential
for Iran and North Korea to use Malaysian trade and financial
institutions to proliferate, Zamani said he understood that
one nuclear weapon transshipped through a Malaysian port or
financed by a Malaysian bank would cause grave damage to
Malaysia, the world's 20th largest trading nation. Zamani
listed BN leadership in FATF and Egmont as illustrating
Malaysian desire to remain compliant with global
anti-money-laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist-financing
(CTF) standards. BN Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Deputy
Director Woon Hooi Shyen gave numerous examples of FIU
circulars issued to banks requiring enhanced due diligence on
all North Korean and Iranian entities. Woon added that all
transactions red flagged as high risk were sent to the FIU
for review and many banks had ended customer relationships
with North Korean related firms based on customer high risk
profiles. She added, however, that BN could find "no
matches" in Malaysia to the UN-designated or other companies
named in information passed by U.S. Coordinator for
Implementation of UNSCR 1874 Philip Goldberg during his June
visit to Kuala Lumpur. (Note: In a separate meeting with
Fowler, FIU officials clarified that although there were no
exact matches, they had discovered an account in different
name that they believed belonged to a North Korean entity of
concern) Special Advisor Einhorn passed new information
about Iranian transshipment and banking activities to BN
officials, most of which BN acknowledged as new information,
though it said it was aware of one of the companies.


14. (C) Malaysia's FIU arranged separate meetings for Fowler
with executives from Maybank and CIMB to provide them with
information relating to Iranian proliferation activity
possibly occurring through their banks. Fowler met with Mad
Yusof Yazid, executive vice president of of Maybank, and
passed information indicating that Iranian proliferation
firms Evertop Services and Skylife Worldwide used Maybank to
conduct business possibly associated with Iran's missile
program. Yazid said he would check whether Skylife was doing
business with Maybank, and indicated that Maybank had
received a subpoena at its branch in New York relating to
Evertop Services. Yazid said Maybank had determined that
Evertop held an account at Maybank, had visited the company's
address and found that the company was not located there, and
had closed Evertop's account. Yazid said that Maybank was
planning to cooperate with the subpoena, even though the
account was not located in the United States. Fowler also
followed up with Yazid regarding information the U.S. passed
to him in July regarding a possible account belonging to
Tanchon Commercial Bank at Maybank in Labuan. Yazid said he
had personally visited Maybank in Labuan to check on the
information, and determined that an account that likely
belonged to Tanchon was operating under a different name
there. Maybank and Malaysia's FIU were preparing a detailed
report on this account to provide to the United States
through FIU channels. Yazid said that, across the board,
Maybank was checking any accounts related to Iran or North
Korea to determine if they had a legitimate economic purpose
and, if not, Maybank was closing those accounts. Fowler also
met with Shamsuddin Ali Hussin, vice president of CIMB, to
pass information indicating that Evertop and Microset Systems
had used CIMB. Hussin said he would follow up on this
information and would report back on the results through
Malaysia's FIU.


15. (U) Special Advisor Einhorn and his delegation cleared
this message.


KEITH