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RUEHLH RUEHNH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHKL #0012/01 0082348
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 082348Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
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INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0075
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000012 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV UN IS MY
SUBJECT: GAZA REACTION: MALAYSIAN PM TAKES CREDIT FOR 
FORCING EMERGENCY SESSION OF UNGA 
 
REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 4 -- UPCOMING BY-ELECTION TEST FOR 
        UMNO 
     ¶B. 2008 KUALA LUMPUR 1118 -- GAZA REACTION 
 
Summary and Comment 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Foreign 
Minister Rais Yatim are touting Malaysia's role in persuading 
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to call the UN General 
Assembly (UNGA) into an emergency session.  Motivated by 
Malaysia's perception that United Nations Security Council 
(UNSC) would not likely pass a resolution condemning Israel 
for its actions in Gaza, the PM reached out to Ban and other 
influential world leaders to campaign for a special session. 
Malaysian political leaders and press have ratcheted up their 
rhetoric towards Israel's invasion of the Gaza strip, openly 
directing emotional responses toward the U.S. for our alleged 
one-sided support of Israel.  All political parties are 
attempting to capitalize on the situation to appease their 
political bases, resulting in a rare moment of political 
unity between the ruling and opposition parties.  Key 
political figures and organizations are calling for a boycott 
of American and Israeli products. The Embassy observed 
another small protest outside our gates on January 5, with a 
larger one expected on January 9. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Comment.  Abdullah and Rais can be expected to 
trumpet diplomatic initiative, which will fuel continued 
protests at the Embassy.  We do not expect any lasting 
commercial impact to largely symbolic calls for a boycott of 
U.S. goods and services.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
 
An Angry PM Reaches Out...and Succeeds 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) PM Abdullah called the Israeli offensive "a clear 
violation of international law", expressing strong 
disappointment with the UNSC, and the United States in 
particular, for failing to agree on a statement condemning 
Israel.  Abdullah said the U.S. "should be using its 
influence to call for a ceasefire but had not bothered to do 
so, and instead stood behind Israel's hidden agenda to wipe 
out Palestine."  The Malaysian MFA issued a statement calling 
Israel's ground assault "a declaration of war against a 
Muslim country."  State-run media continues to keep this 
event at the forefront, typically including pictures of dead 
Palestinian children on the front page. 
 
¶4. (U) The initiative began on January 5 when Abdullah 
contacted Ban and the World Body's President, Miguel d'Escoto 
Brockmann, to urge them to hold a special session of the UN 
General Assembly (UNGA) regarding Israel's invasion of the 
Gaza strip.  Abdullah also contacted all the heads of 
government in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and in the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).  Abdullah said 
that "only through the special general assembly could the UN 
negate any improper action of the United States".  Foreign 
Minister Rais Yatim concurrently made a quick, unannounced 
trip to Jeddah and met with OIC counterparts at a special 
session of the OIC Executive Committee, whereby the OIC 
endorsed plans for an emergency UNGA session.  FM Rais also 
reached out to counterparts in other ASEAN nations, receiving 
letters from Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and 
ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuan supporting the 
Malaysian initiative. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Abdullah and Rais appear to have attained their 
objective: on January 8, FM Rais announced during a speech to 
foreign diplomats that Ban decided to call an emergency 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000012  002 OF 003 
 
 
session of UNGA to discuss the Gaza situation and to demand 
an immediate cease fire.  Rais read the text of a letter from 
Ban, which stated that he was calling the session "in 
response to the formal requests by the Prime Minister of 
Malaysia and the President of Brazil."  Rais commented that 
"the session is scheduled for January 8, which is today." 
(Note: Malaysia is 13 hours ahead of EST.  Poloff was in 
attendance of the speech, and notes that Rais received a 
standing ovation after reading Ban's letter from an audience 
comprising of MFA officials and high-ranking members of the 
diplomatic community.  End Note.)  Abdullah, also in 
attendance, later told reporters that the international 
community "has a moral duty" to save the Palestinian people. 
He went on to say that "On the issue of morality, Israel has 
to be sanctioned". 
 
 
Other Political Fallout Over Gaza 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The PM has called for the Malaysian Parliament to 
hold a special session on January 12 to discuss "Israel's 
cruelty against Palestine."  Contacts from both political 
coalitions told Poloff that there will be a lot of criticism 
toward the U.S.  The Utusan Malaysia, the UMNO party 
newspaper, called for the MPs to take harsher measures beyond 
condemnation toward the U.S. and Israel at the special 
session.  Among many (wildly impractical) suggestions by the 
newspaper were to expel US diplomats in Malaysia and close 
the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur; stop Malaysian students 
from studying in the U.S.; end FTA talks, withdraw all 
investments from the U.S.; and dissolve the UN and replace it 
with another body that excluded the U.S. and Israel. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Domestic political considerations are driving 
Malaysian authorities, although the Prime Minister is no 
doubt sincere and personally committed to his proposed course 
of action.  Both candidates in next week's by-election (ref 
A), along with DPM Najib Razak and opposition leader Anwar 
Ibrahim, have used the Gaza situation as a rallying cry for 
the masses.  Anwar told supporters at a campaign rally "while 
Israel is punishing the Palestinian people for choosing 
Hamas, it is no different from UMNO punishing Malaysians for 
choosing the Pakatan Rakyat."  PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang 
and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng have also been 
outspoken in their criticism of Israel, calling for a rare 
unified statement from both political coalitions to 
demonstrate Malaysia's unity on this issue.  FM Rais, himself 
running for one of three UMNO VP seats in March, also 
proposed that the government should organize a "mammoth 
rally" to condemn Israel's action in Palestine as a "crime 
against humanity." 
 
 
Economic Fallout Over Gaza 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) On January 5, the Malaysian Muslim Consumers' 
Association, a relatively unknown organization advocating 
Halal products and other Muslim consumer interests, called 
for a boycott of "Israeli and US products and services", 
posting graphic photos of Palestinian dead and wounded on its 
website www.muslimconsumer.org.my.  The banner at the top of 
the Malay-language site portrayed three trash cans labeled 
"Coca-Cola", "Colgate", and "Starbucks" with the word 
"boycott" in flashing red letters.  The association 
identified 108 brands for the boycott, including some that 
were neither Israeli nor American.  Popular brands such as 
Pizza Hut and Domino's were missing from the list, but 
Finnish Nokia, Swiss Nestle, and a number of other non-US 
companies were included. 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000012  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) On January 6, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad 
called for a boycott of U.S. products and of the US dollar, 
saying that if people stop accepting the currency the US 
would not be able to trade and would become very poor, 
resulting in a "stop (to) the production of more and more 
weapons in order to kill people."  He claimed that money 
spent on American goods was spent in the "invention, 
production, and manufacturing of weapons." 
 
¶10. (U) Mahathir also urged people to stop drinking 
Coca-Cola.  Since his comments on January 6, the Association 
of Muslim Restaurant operators, an association representing 
over 2600 Muslim restaurants in Malaysia, has agreed to 
remove Coca-Cola from their menus effective January 9.  Other 
products are being named as targets for a boycott as well, 
including McDonald's and Maybelline.  On January 7, the 
editor of a local newspaper urged NGOs to pressure the 
government to stop doing business with US banks (Citibank and 
Bank of America both have a presence in Malaysia). 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment: While the wider boycott of US products 
appears to be poorly planed and too broad to be effective, 
the boycott of Coca-Cola in Muslim restaurants may prove to 
be more effective at least in symbolic and publicity value. 
While the economic consequences may not be significant, the 
absence of Coca-Cola will be noticed, and the boycott could 
also spread to other retail outlets.  End Comment. 
 
 
The Protests Continue 
--------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) A small delegation from Gerakan Belia 4B Malaysia 
gathered in front of the Embassy on January 5 to protest 
Israel's attack on Gaza.  Press filmed the event as they 
handed over a protest letter, and then held a press 
conference on the street.  RSO reports that there were only 
35 protesters and that the entire event lasted 15 minutes. 
Embassy contacts told Poloff that several youth groups will 
converge at the Embassy on January 9 to protest US support 
for Israel, and claim credibly that several thousand people 
will attend. 
KEITH