VZCZCXRO2566
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0958/01 3340947
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 300947Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3517
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000958 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/GWI PLEASE PASS TO AMBASSADOR VERVEER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2019 
TAGS: KWMN PREL PGOV GTIP MY
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR VISIT TO MALAYSIA BY AMBASSADOR 
FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JAMES R. KEITH FOR REASONS 1.4 (B AND D). 
 
 Summary and Introduction 
------------------------ 
 
¶1. (C) Madam Ambassador, Embassy Kuala Lumpur warmly welcomes 
your visit to Malaysia.  U.S.-Malaysia relations are changing 
across a wide range of bilateral and multilateral settings. 
In his first seven months in office, Prime Minister Najib Tun 
Razak has demonstrated a more pragmatic and action-oriented 
approach than his predecessor.  Najib has explicitly endorsed 
strengthened ties with the United States.  The challenge is 
for Malaysia to translate his words into deeds in priority 
areas for us ranging from non-proliferation and contributions 
to the effort in Afghanistan, to combating trafficking in 
persons.  Najib realizes Malaysia needs economic reforms to 
stay competitive so he is pushing for increased economic 
liberalization.  Prospects for political reform are much less 
certain because the ruling National Front coalition depends 
on controlling the levers of power and patronage, while 
Islamic influence in society is increasing.  The ruling party 
and its political opposition are dominated by ethnic Malays 
who view the world increasingly through the prism of Middle 
East politics. 
 
¶2. (C) In the wake of the President's Cairo speech, your 
visit provides an excellent opportunity to engage the 
Malaysian government and society on the increasingly salient 
topic of women's issues and rights in this moderate Muslim 
country.  Your interview with Al-Jazeera will get out our 
message on women's issues to both the domestic audience and a 
regional one.  Malaysian leaders recognize the importance of 
improving the status of women in Malaysia, including 
addressing glass ceilings and domestic violence. They have 
stated publicly that Islam grants women full equality with 
men, but in practice there are clear concerns.  Women's 
Affairs Minister Shahrizat will be keen to exchange views 
with you on these issues, as will the women entrepreneurs and 
NGOs with whom you meet while in Kuala Lumpur. On the issue 
of trafficking in persons (TIP) and Malaysia's designation as 
a Tier III country, we have emphasized our desire to partner 
with Malaysia in combating TIP, while seeking from them 
concrete actions in the areas of labor-trafficking 
prosecutions, implementation of a public awareness campaign 
and improved victim identification and protection.  END 
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION. 
 
The Broader Relationship in Context 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Robust trade and investment ties remain the solid 
foundation of our relationship with Malaysia, our 18th 
largest trading partner (bilateral trade totaled USD 44 
billion in 2008). The GOM has been an important partner on 
counterterrorism when it serves Malaysia's own security 
interests, and we enjoy expanding law enforcement cooperation 
as well as evolving military-to-military ties.  Our 
people-to-people ties build on decades of Malaysian students 
studying in America (5,400 Malaysian students studied in the 
U.S. during in 2007-2008).  The emergence of new 
administrations in both our countries has provided expanded 
opportunities to pursue vigorous public outreach to 
often-skeptical, but now more receptive, Muslim Malay 
audiences. 
 
The Status of Women 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Women's Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has called 
for placing more women in decision-making positions. 
Minister Shahrizat was responsible for successfully pushing 
for a constitutional amendment barring gender discrimination 
in August 2001.  She has identified four major adversities 
facing women in Malaysia today: the repercussions of the 
recession; work-life balance; the gender gap; and violence 
against women.  Shahrizat's Deputy, Chew Mei Fun, told the 
media on November 26 that women still faced discrimination in 
Malaysia and cited increasing domestic violence (3,769 
reported incidents in 2008) and rape cases.   The Women's 
Ministry is currently putting together an Action Plan "to 
fast track women into decision-making positions in both the 
public and private sectors."  The GOM has agreed that women 
should hold 30 percent of senior positions in the public 
sector and wants the private sector to emulate this policy. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Women in Malaysia have made significant progress 
toward gender equality, not facing the kind of wholesale 
economic and social discrimination against women found in 
some predominantly Muslim countries.  The GOM has ratified 
the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000958  002 OF 003 
 
 
Discrimination Against Women and Malaysia's five-year 
development plans have included sections on the advancement 
of women.  There are 23 women Members of Parliament, about 10 
percent of the total (222), and 17 out of 68 Senators are 
women, while only two of 32 Cabinet Members are women. 
Women, especially in the poorest states of Kelantan and 
Terengganu, face disproportionately high rates of poverty and 
lack access to health care.  Women were said to be 
disproportionately affected by the recent economic downturn. 
NGOs claim that women face de facto job and salary 
discrimination in Malaysia.  NGOs such as Sisters in Islam 
have also called attention to the case of a Muslim woman, 
Kartika, who has been sentenced to be caned under Syariah law 
for consuming alcohol, pointing out that such Islamic laws 
are enforced selectively.  NGOs are also concerned about 
unfair treatment of women under syariah law, which covers 
divorce, inheritance, child custody and other family-related 
issues.  Societal onus is also placed on women to avoid 
dressing in ways that can provoke sexual harassment and 
abuse. 
 
Trafficking in Persons and Human Rights 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On June 16, the U.S. designated Malaysia as a Tier 
III TIP country, for lack of significant efforts to combat 
human trafficking.  Areas identified in our annual TIP report 
where problems were especially acute, included: labor 
trafficking, prosecutions of traffickers, and victim 
identification and protection.  In the months following its 
designation and our comprehensive engagement, the Malaysian 
Government has taken a number of measures.  The GOM has 
arrested immigration officials in connection with the 
trafficking of Burmese refugees at the Thai border (the 
subject of an US Senate Foreign Relations Committee report); 
shared with us a five-year National TIP Action Plan; issued 
prosecutorial directives on the handling of TIP cases under 
the guidance of the Attorney General's Chambers; and hosted a 
number of trainings designed to educate law enforcement 
officers on how to investigate and charge cases under the new 
Anti-TIP Act. The GOM is also negotiating a new MOU with 
Indonesia that would drop any provisions for employers to 
hold migrant workers' passports.  TIP Ambassador CdeBaca 
visited Kuala Lumpur August 25-27 and met with several senior 
government officials, including Foreign Minister Anifah Aman. 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) On November 10, we presented the GOM, including the 
Women's Minister, Foreign Minister, Home Affairs Minister and 
Human Resources Minister, an outline of U.S. recommendations 
on specific TIP issues the Malaysian government should focus 
its efforts on in advance of our 2010 TIP review, which 
begins early next year.   We have also proactively engaged 
with the GOM in providing a range of technical assistance and 
training to help build their capacity to combat trafficking. 
Over the last several months, the Mission has participated in 
two training sessions for Malaysian law enforcement officials 
and prosecutors, hosted a two-day seminar for journalists 
reporting on TIP issues, and will coordinate two weeks of 
U.S. Department of Justice training for 80 law enforcement 
professionals in December. 
 
Foreign Policy and Foreign Relations 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (C) Malaysia's foreign policy is not well aligned with 
that of the United States.  Instead, it is Non-Aligned 
Movement (NAM)-centric which leads Malaysia to vote opposite 
the U.S. position on almost all important UN issues, and is 
unlikely to change dramatically.  Although the GOM has 
recently expressed willingness to cooperate with 
international efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear 
weapons, Malaysia undercut its credibility in this area on 
November 25 when it was one of only three IAEA Board of 
Governors members (along with Cuba and Venezuela) to vote 
against a German-sponsored IAEA resolution calling for 
increased cooperation from Iran.  U.S. support for Malaysia 
joining the Somalia anti-piracy Contact Group was a useful 
start to moving Malaysia toward more engagement in 
multilateral security structures.  We are encouraging 
Malaysia to play a more active role in helping build capacity 
in Afghanistan.  Malaysia is a leading member of ASEAN, and 
could play a more positive role in Southeast Asian conflict 
resolution and ASEAN's approach to Burma to bring about 
democratic change in that country.  The one foreign policy 
issue that resonates most profoundly with the Malaysian 
public is the Israel-Palestine conflict, where predominantly 
Muslim Malaysians (55 percent of the population) identify 
with the Palestinians and attack U.S. support of Israel. 
 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000958  003 OF 003 
 
 
Domestic Politics 
----------------- 
 
¶9. (C) The broader domestic context is more settled than a 
year ago, but worrisome factors are still embedded in the 
system.  Najib came to power as Prime Minister in April 2009 
in the midst of domestic political discord that raises 
long-term questions regarding the continued dominance of his 
ruling UMNO party, in power since independence in 1957.  He 
replaced former PM Abdullah Badawi, who was eased out after 
the ruling National Front (BN) coalition lost its 
near-perpetual two-thirds majority control of Parliament--and 
five of 13 states--in the March 2008 general elections. 
Najib successfully presided over the recent UMNO national 
convention, which bolstered his leadership, but is finding it 
challenging to identify and implement popular political 
reform measures while maintaining UMNO's tight control over 
state levers of power and patronage.  With a weakened ruling 
coalition, a consolidating opposition, and a more 
sophisticated electorate with access to more information, 
Malaysians are struggling to adjust to a new and more 
competitive political environment. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Malaysia's judiciary is not independent and the 
ruling party has far too much power to circumscribe freedoms 
of assembly, expression, and the press.  In particular, the 
ruling party has embarked upon an effort to modernize the 
Internal Security Act, which permits extended detention 
without judicial review.  Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim 
remains at risk of imprisonment over what most observers 
would agree are politicized charges of sodomy, a violation of 
criminal law in Malaysia.  In recent months, the ruling party 
has backed off its aggressive pursuit of the opposition 
leader, but circumstances could change. 
 
The Economy and Trade Relations with the U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Malaysia,s economy is expected to contract around 
five percent in 2009 and recover slowly in 2010.  The global 
recession led to dramatic declines in exports and investment 
this year in Malaysia, resulting in a recession since the 
first quarter of 2009.  Malaysian policy makers responded 
with monetary easing and two fiscal stimulus packages worth a 
total of USD 19 billion, but the Central Bank does not expect 
a rebound until the fourth quarter of 2009 because Malaysia 
remains dependent on the resumption of growth in its key 
export markets, including the U.S., the EU, and Japan. 
Hence, the political stakes are high for Najib, who must 
ensure that the economy continues to provide growth and 
prosperity to a large middle class.  Najib has used the 
recession to push forward economic reforms needed to keep 
Malaysia competitive.  Najib's recognition that reforms are 
needed also presents opportunities for our trade and 
investment agenda specifically with regard to market access 
issues related to government procurement and competition 
policy, among others. While it is not yet ready to join, 
Malaysia is interested in discussions related to the 
Trans-Pacific Partnership regional trade agreement.  If it 
decided to join, it could make use of much of the work done 
during the U.S.-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement negotiations. 
KEITH