VZCZCXRO7018
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0068/01 0360141
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 050141Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3744
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2911
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2729
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0190

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 000068 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2020 
TAGS: PREL EFIN ETTC PARM MY KNNP IAEA
SUBJECT: AA/S VAN DIEPEN'S MEETINGS IN KUALA LUMPUR ON 
NON-PRO AND EXPORT CONTROL ISSUES 
 
REF: 09 KUALA LUMPUR 916 
 
Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian McFeeters for reasons 1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1. (S) SUMMARY:  MFA Deputy Secretary General Zainol told 
visiting Acting Assistant Secretary of State for 
International Security and Nonproliferation Vann Van Diepen 
in a 90-minute interagency meeting on January 28 that the GOM 
was in the final stages of reviewing its draft export control 
law before it goes to Parliament, but he declined to provide 
a timeframe for when that would happen.  Ministry of 
International Trade and Industry (MITI) Deputy Secretary 
General Rebecca told Van Diepen in a subsequent meeting that 
Prime Minister Najib Razak had set mid-March as a deadline 
for submitting a completed draft law to Parliament.  With 
respect to the Iranian "front" companies list that Special 
Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Robert Einhorn 
passed to the MFA SecGen in November, Zainol said some of 
these companies had been investigated and others had bank 
accounts closed; he provided no additional detail, saying 
that any information had been passed in intel channels (Note: 
 post has no record of such a communications through liaison 
channels. End note).  Zainol said the GOM would consider Van 
Diepen,s suggestion of sustained interagency dialogue on 
nonproliferation and export controls.  He shed no new light 
on the prospects for Malaysia to replace its Ambassador to 
the IAEA, saying only that they are working on the question 
of a new Governor, and once a final decision is made they 
would approach the IAEA on the issue of the BOG Chairmanship 
(which Malaysia currently holds).  Zainol asked for updates 
on START negotiations, the Nuclear Security Summit, and the 
May NPT RevCon.  A planned meeting with PM Najib,s foreign 
policy advisor was canceled due to his illness.  END SUMMARY. 
 
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MEETING 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Participants: 
GOM: 
-- Mohammed Zainol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Deputy 
Secretary General II for Multilateral Affairs 
-- Mohammed Badruddin, Under Secretary for North American and 
European Affairs 
-- Bala Chandran, Under Secretary for Nonproliferation and 
Arms Control 
-- Zahad Ishan, Assistant Commissioner of Police 
-- Seng Foo Wong, MITI Senior Director for Economic and Trade 
Relations 
-- Other officials from MFA 
 
USG: 
-- Vann Van Diepen, Acting Assistant Secretary for 
International Security and Nonproliferation 
-- Robert Rapson, DCM, U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur 
-- Caroline Russell, Acting Director, ISN Office of 
Counterproliferation Initiatives 
-- Rob Gile, Foreign Affairs Officer, ISN Office of 
Counterproliferation Initiatives 
-- Jonathan Poling, National Security Division, Department of 
Justice 
-- Mark Webber, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of 
Industry and Security, Department of Commerce 
-- John Sonderman, Associate Director, Office of Export 
Enforcement, Department of Commerce 
-- Amber Dowdell, Foreign Affairs Officer, ISN Office of 
Counterproliferation Initiatives 
-- PolCouns (notetaker). 
 
¶3. (C) Deputy Secretary General II Zainol opened the January 
28  meeting with Acting Assistant Secretary for International 
Security and Nonproliferation Van Diepen by recalling Special 
Advisor Robert Einhorn's November visit to Kuala Lumpur (ref 
A).  He added that the GOM had assembled an interagency team 
to work on nonproliferation issues, including the agencies 
present as well as representatives from the Attorney 
General's Chambers and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board.  He 
noted that MFA is the "focal point" for export control and 
nonproliferation issues within the GOM.  Zainol said the 
GOM's ultimate goal was a world without nuclear weapons, and 
that he would welcome discussion on that issue as well as on 
continued cooperation with the USG on nonproliferation. 
 
¶4. (C) AA/S Van Diepen cited a world without nuclear weapons 
as a centerpiece of President Obama's policy.  He noted that 
there was tension between non-nuclear states seeking more 
progress on disarmament and nuclear states emphasizing 
nonproliferation, but noted that disarmament could only 
proceed if there were a solid foundation of nonproliferation 
to assure nuclear weapons states that everyone else would 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000068  002 OF 004 
 
 
stay at zero if they reduced to zero. 
 
¶5. (C) Turning to the importance of Malaysia, Van Diepen said 
that Malaysia was increasingly seen as a "major player" in 
terms of allowing proliferation activities because of the 
success of nonproliferation measures in other countries, 
including the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.  Until an 
export control law and an accompanying enforcement mechanism 
were in place, proliferators would continue to make use of 
Malaysia, which was inconsistent with international and 
United Nations Security Council obligations that both the 
U.S. and Malaysia were subject to.  Malaysia's legitimate 
business interests would also suffer if it were seen as a 
"proliferators' playground."  Van Diepen said he was 
interested in the GOM's plans regarding an export control 
law, requested an update on Iranian front companies that 
Special Advisor Einhorn had identified (ref A), and suggested 
establishing a more regular interagency dialogue with the GOM 
on nonproliferation and export control issues. 
 
Export Control Draft Law 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) The export control law was with the Attorney General's 
Chambers and in the "final stages of drafting," after which 
it would go back to cabinet for final ministerial-level 
approval, Zainol said.  He was not able to specify when a 
draft would be submitted to Parliament.  He said the law 
would be comprehensive, encompassing all nonproliferation 
issues and dual-use items.  It would focus on controlling the 
export of items prohibited under UN Security Council 
resolutions; the Malaysians were ambiguous as to whether it 
would include a "catch-all" clause for items not on control 
lists.  However, the GOM would be on "weak ground" if it 
decided to go beyond the listed items to seize other items 
that the USG perceived as posing a proliferation risk, Zainol 
said, recommending that such items instead be listed on UN 
sanctions lists.  Van Diepen noted that the way to deal with 
non-listed items was to focus on the intended end use, as 
called for in UNSCR 1540, adding that information on end use 
could be developed through enforcement and intelligence 
means.  Van Diepen identified this area as a subject for 
further discussion. 
 
¶7. (C) Zainol said he was not at liberty to provide the text 
of the draft export control law.  Asked about controlling 
goods that never physically enter Malaysia but are traded by 
brokerage companies operating in Malaysia, Zainol said that 
was a difficult area that the GOM would need to study; such 
coverage was not in the draft law.  Van Diepen suggested that 
the USG could provide additional training related to export 
control law implementation. Commerce Senior Advisor Mark 
Webber added that the Department of Commerce could send a 
technical delegation to Kuala Lumpur for expert-level 
consultations.  Zainol said the GOM would consider the offer, 
and welcomed upcoming EXBS Commodity Identification Training 
scheduled for March, noting that they had identified 35 
officials to participate. Zainol noted that the GOM is also 
considering sending officials to the University of Georgia in 
April for more intensive export control-related training. 
 
Iranian Front Companies 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (S) Referring to Van Diepen's mention of the list of 
Iranian front companies provided by Special Advisor Einhorn 
in November (ref A), Zainol said the GOM had "undertaken 
investigations on all seven" and had conveyed information to 
the USG "security agencies" on some of them and was waiting 
for U.S. feedback.  He added that some of the investigations 
were still ongoing, that some companies were not operating at 
the moment, that two companies, Skylife and Evertop, had been 
looked at seriously, and that some exports to Iran had been 
verified.  He said some of the companies on the list (without 
specifying which ones) were operated by Iranians not based in 
Malaysia while others were operated by Malaysians.  In later 
discussion Zainol said that some of the companies had their 
bank accounts closed.  Van Diepen asked that all available 
information regarding the front companies be provided or 
re-provided to the U.S. Embassy.  Van Diepen also noted that 
front companies can close and reopen quickly under a new 
name. (Note:  in follow-up to Zainol's comment that 
information on front companies had been passed to U.S. 
"security" agencies, post checked has no record of any 
substantive communication on this issue from MFA or Malaysian 
security/intelligence agencies, including via liaison 
channels.  Embassy is following up with the GOM.  End Note) 
 
Further Dialogue on Nonproliferation 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000068  003 OF 004 
 
 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶9. (C) Van Diepen opined that the U.S.-Malaysia relationship 
had reached the point where a sustained, Zainol stated 
interagency dialogue on nonproliferation was needed, perhaps 
along the lines of discussions with Singapore. Van Diepen 
added that the dialogue did not require establishment of a 
formal structure, but rather could simply be an agreement to 
sustained discussion of the broad range of nonproliferation 
and export control issues.  Zainol agreed to look into the 
possibility. 
 
IAEA Board of Governors Chairmanship 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (C) Van Diepen said the USG welcomed Malaysia's 
chairmanship of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 
Board of Governors (BOG), adding that it would be important 
for the GOM to name a new Ambassador/BOG Chair to resolve 
growing uncertainty in Vienna.  Zainol said that the question 
was a "work in progress," and that he hoped the USG would 
extend cooperation to a new BOG Chair if the GOM were to name 
one.  He said they were "working on" the question of a new 
Governor or not, and once a final decision is made they will 
approach the IAEA on the issue of the Chairmanship.  He had 
no reply to Van Diepen's reiterated request that the GOM make 
this sovereign decision soon in light of the pressing 
nonproliferation and safeguards work underway at the IAEA. 
 
START, Nuclear Security Summit, and NPT Review Conference 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶11. (C) Zainol requested that Van Diepen provide updates on 
the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START), the Nuclear 
Security Summit (NSS) in April, and the Nonproliferation 
Treaty Review Conference in May (NPT RevCon).  Van Diepen 
replied that the U.S. and Russian Federation had reached 
provisional agreement on warhead and delivery vehicle 
numbers.  Outstanding issues included the verification regime 
and Russia's request to consider new issues such as advanced 
conventional weapons.  The USG preferred to defer such 
issues.  Zainol said he hoped the START discussions would be 
a catalyst for other nuclear weapons states to reduce 
arsenals.  On the NSS, Van Diepen said efforts were underway 
to reach agreed text at preliminary meetings, including a 
February meeting in The Hague, before the mid-April summit, 
to which 42 heads of state and government had been invited. 
Zainol said the GOM appreciated the invitation to Prime 
Minister Najib.  On the NPT RevCon, Van Diepen said the idea 
was to have a successful conference that would advance in a 
balanced way all three pillars of the NPT:  disarmament, 
nonproliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, all of 
which are areas where the U.S. and Malaysia had shared 
interests.  The USG hoped to correct the erosion of the 
nonproliferation pillar by issues such as the previously 
undeclared Iranian uranium enrichment facility in Qom.  The 
USG needed Malaysia's help to prevent radical NAM countries 
including Egypt from undercutting the conference. 
 
Iran Sanctions Act 
------------------ 
 
¶12. (C) Zainol also asked about legislation in the U.S. 
Congress that could target countries doing business with 
Iran.  Van Diepen explained that the legislation sought to 
address concerns about Iran's WMD development, sponsorship of 
terrorism, and interference in the Middle East peace process, 
and that the Obama Administration was trying to influence the 
legislation to preserve Executive Branch flexibility.  Zainol 
and MITI's Wong replied that the GOM preferred that pressure 
on Iran come through UN Security Council resolutions, and 
that a law that targeted Malaysian companies would be seen as 
unwarranted action "against a friend."  The MITI 
representative also expressed concerns about the 
"consequences" of sanctions on "innocent" companies.  Van 
Diepen agreed to take those concerns back to Washington. 
 
Ministry of Trade and Industry 
------------------------------ 
 
¶13. (C) In a January 28 meeting at the Ministry of Trade and 
Industry, Deputy Secretary General Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta 
Maria told AA/S Van Diepen she understood that MFA had hosted 
an interagency meeting that morning and asked what more she 
could tell him.  Van Diepen said it would be useful to get a 
clearer idea of where Malaysia was on the Export Control Law. 
 He added that the U.S. was ready to help with training 
designed to promote implementation of the law.  Rebecca 
acknowledged that it had taken some time for the importance 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000068  004 OF 004 
 
 
of moving on export control legislation to sink in at MITI 
and other GOM Ministries, but she said the combination of 
high-level U.S. visits like that of Special Advisor Einhorn 
and revelations regarding firms involved in 
proliferation-related transshipments had caused the Najib 
administration to put passage of the export control law on a 
new and faster trajectory.  MITI, she added, which will 
ultimately be the custodian, had been pushing the interagency 
group to speed up work to keep to the PM,s mid-March 
deadline.  The PM, Rebecca added, had set that deadline 
because he did not want to go to Washington in April and face 
embarrassing questions about why Malaysia had not moved 
faster on the legislation. 
 
¶14. (C) Van Diepen noted that passage of the export control 
law would be very important.   The UAE, he pointed out, had 
been a key location for diversion of sensitive items to Iran 
in the past but had passed an export control law, worked on 
implementation, cooperated closely with the U.S. and others 
on specific cases, and successfully interdicted illegal 
shipments.   As a result, companies involved in illegal 
transshipments were now moving their operations to other 
locations like Malaysia, so Malaysia needed to monitor the 
situation closely and act on a law as soon as possible. 
 
¶15. (C) Rebecca noted that the only ASEAN country that had an 
export control law was Singapore and she asked what the U.S. 
was doing to engage other ASEAN countries on the issue of 
export controls.  Van Diepen replied that the U.S. addressed 
this issue principally in the ARF and via UNSCR 1540.   He 
said the U.S. was also interested in raising export control 
issues in APEC to take advantage of the participation of the 
private sector but was constrained by concerns raised by 
China. 
 
¶16. (C) Van Diepen asked about MITI,s preparations for 
implementing the export control law when passed.  Rebecca 
responded that the GOM was in the very preliminary planning 
stages and would welcome USG support in implementing 
follow-on actions, including regulation promulgation and 
interagency coordination. 
 
¶17. (C) Van Diepen informed Rebecca that during his meeting 
at MFA he had proposed the U.S. and Malaysia establish a 
regular interagency consultation mechanism that could cover 
policy issues, as well as discussion of particular cases, and 
broader issues with regard to implementation of export 
controls.  Rebecca opined that it would be easy to set up 
such a mechanism once the export control law was in place and 
she offered to facilitate cooperation across agencies 
involved in implementation, including MITI, MFA, Defense, and 
Customs. 
 
¶18. (U) Acting Assistant Secretary Van Diepen cleared this 
message. 
KEITH