VZCZCXRO0290
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0486 1670912
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160912Z JUN 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2867
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2788
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0635
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 000486 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR EAP/MTS AND INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IR MY
SUBJECT: IRANIANS IN MALAYSIA PROTEST ELECTION RESULTS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment:  Some 500 Iranians gathered in 
front of the UN offices in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 and 
demonstrated against the election results in Iran.  Police 
fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who consisted 
primarily of students.  We have no reports of further protest 
actions.  The Iranian student and expatriate community has 
been growing rapidly in Malaysia over recent years.  The June 
15 demonstration was the first significant protest by 
Iranians in Malaysia against their own government.  End 
Summary and Comment. 
 
¶2. (U) Malaysian police fired tear gas at a protest by 
approximately 500-700 Iranians in Kuala Lumpur on June 15, 
according to local and international news reports.  The 
protesters, mostly students from an estimated 9,000 Iranian 
expatriates in Malaysia, gathered at the United Nations 
building to pass an official memorandum of protest to a UN 
representative.  The memorandum reportedly expressed 
disapproval with the tainted outcome of the June 12 Iranian 
presidential elections. 
 
¶3. (SBU) There were conflicting reports as to the level of 
activity among the protesters that prompted the police to 
fire tear gas.  According to the government-influenced 
newspapers, the police only fired after warning the 
protesters several times to disperse.  A senior police 
official on the scene stated, "they refused to disperse and 
we were forced to fire several rounds of tear gas."  However, 
according to a Reuters photographer who was at the scene, the 
protesters were already leaving the UN building when the 
police fired the tear gas.  There were no reported injuries. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Youth Wing of the opposition Peoples Justice 
Party (PKR) condemned the police action in firing tear gas 
against the Iranian protesters as "excessive," according to a 
June 16 press report. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Post has no reports of any further planned 
demonstrations by Iranian expatriates.  A small detachment of 
police remained on stand-by at the Iranian embassy on June 
¶16.  The Iranian embassy is located approximately 600 meters 
for the U.S. Embassy. 
RAPSON