BLUE LANTERN RESPONSE ON PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 000978 SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC MY SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN RESPONSE ON PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON LICENSE 050197825 REF: SECSTATE 118981 ¶1. Pursuant to reftel inquiry, Econoff in late November and early December 2009 contacted Zetro Services about conducting a site visit to the company and asking Ref questions. Zetro in late November initially accepted, then that same day delayed a site visit. Econoff was told that the best point of contact for the company was not Dato Mohd Zamri Bin H.J. Muda -- who had been listed in Ref -- but rather Zetro General Manager Major (ret.) Yanni (FNU) could speak and meet with Econoff. Econoff asked to speak with Dato Zamri, but the secretary on the phone would not comply. ¶2. Econoff again contacted the company during the week of 1 December and arranged a tentative visit on the 7th, but it was canceled by a male 'technician' manning the phone, and Econoff was told that Major Yanni was out of town for over a week "on vacation" and was unavailable for contact. The company employees claimed that they did not even have a mobile number for Yanni. Econoff strongly suspected that Zetro is avoiding contact with a U.S. official. The only information that Econoff learned about Zetro is that it is located in Subang, a suburb west of Kuala Lumpur, and near the Subang Airport. ¶3. Separately, Econoff spoke with Major Shafik (FNU) with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF),who said that Zetro is one of the many firms that does occasional procurement for the RMAF. However, he was unfamiliar with this contract, saying that the RMAF has many such contracts. ¶4. Post assessment is that Zetro at this time is not cooperating even though it has been sufficiently warned that it faces cancellation or refusal of the proposed purchase. The purported travel of the only senior company official (Yanni) capable of assisting Econoff is odd, and repeated phone calls to Zetro have not resulted in reaching other Zetro employees who could possibly assist Econoff. We cannot confirm Ref proposed procurement at this time. KEITH