WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIA REACTS TO CEASEFIRE

Khairy Jamaluddin's antics provided a sometimes entertaining, sometimes maddening diversion throughout the Lebanon crisis. He organized a large and noisy but non-violent July 21 rally in front of the Embassy during which he was pictured by the press at the Embassy's gate, haranguing marchers with a bull horn. Khairy led a July 28 demonstration on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center during Secretary Rice's participation in the ARF, demanding unsuccessfully to deliver a harshly worded petition to the Secretary, and his appearances often seemed to direct more attention to himself than to his cause.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUALA LUMPUR 001587

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2016

TAGS: PGOV, PREL, IS, LE, MY

SUBJECT: MALAYSIA REACTS TO CEASEFIRE

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1559

B. KUALA LUMPUR 1354

C. KUALA LUMPUR 1397

D. KUALA LUMPUR 1377

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David B. Shear for reasons 1.4 (b, d)

1. (C) Summary: Malaysian officials have welcomed the passage of United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1701, and the Malaysian media's preoccupation with the Middle East crisis has quickly diminished. GOM officials reaffirmed their commitment to a lasting peace in the Middle East and reiterated their commitment to send peacekeeping troops to support the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Despite some rhetoric and political posturing, Malaysia seems willing to work with the UN in determining what, if any, Malaysian forces would appropriately augment UNIFIL.

Until they were corrected by the Prime Minister, leaders of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Youth movement called for boycotts of American products and for a cessation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. UMNO Youth leaders admit they are making concessions to their conservative base, but have generally returned their focus to the domestic agenda. Calls for a boycott of American products largely fell on deaf ears, but the demand that the GOM terminate the FTA talks reflects the extent to which the GOM will have to work in order to generate domestic support for an FTA. End Summary.

GOM Supports UNSCR 1701

2. (C) Senior Malaysian officials including Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Foreign Minister Hamid have strongly supported the ceasefire in Lebanon. Notwithstanding recent reports that Israel may object to peacekeeping forces from nations that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and FM Hamid have all declared publicly that Malaysia will send troops to support UNIFIL over Israel's objections.

However, privately, Malaysia's Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs Shahrul Ikram has told us that Malaysia will naturally allow the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to decide if Malaysia should send troops and what their composition would be. He also reported that Malaysia wants to help, but will naturally work through the UN to ensure UNIFIL has the appropriate composition to complete the mission.

And the Negative Public Rhetoric Cools

3. (C) The Malaysian public and media reacted strongly to the Lebanon crisis, and, in addition to sustained criticism of the U.S. in the local press, the Embassy experienced demonstrations on several Friday afternoons at the end of July that were larger and noisier than usual. But the passage of UNSCR 1701 and the August 14 implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon quickly deflated much of the negative political rhetoric prevalent in Malaysia after the start of hostilities.

Politicians and reporters have largely returned their attention to domestic politics: a new budget session in parliament scheduled to begin on September 1, preparations for the November UMNO General Assembly, and former Prime Minister Mahathir's jabs at the government. Despite overwhelming coverage of the war prior to the ceasefire, most newspapers did not headline the implementation of the ceasefire, nor did they give front-page billing to the return of displaced Lebanese families back to southern Lebanon.

Malaysian officials have continued calls for comprehensive peace and reaffirmed their commitment to send peacekeeping troops to Lebanon (ref A).

Khairy Jamaluddin: Criticizes the FTA Talks; Calls for Boycott of U.S. Goods

4. (C) UMNO Youth deputy chairman and Prime Ministerial son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin's antics provided a sometimes entertaining, sometimes maddening diversion throughout the Lebanon crisis. Khairy's influence on his father-in-law and some of his recent financial dealings have been the target of former Prime Minister Mahathir's ire for several months, and, no doubt sensing that political opportunity knocked, he decided to lead a highly visible UMNO Youth effort to flay the U.S. for its support of Israel. He organized a large and noisy but non-violent July 21 rally in front of the Embassy during which he was pictured by the press at the Embassy's gate, haranguing marchers with a bull horn.

Khairy led a July 28 demonstration on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center during Secretary Rice's participation in the ARF, demanding unsuccessfully to deliver a harshly worded petition to the Secretary, and his appearances often seemed to direct more attention to himself than to his cause. The frenetic Khairy also called for a stop to U.S.- Malaysia FTA talks and for a boycott of the "American" brands Coca-Cola and Starbucks, statements that were rebuffed by the Prime Minister.

5. (C) Khairy has been less vocal since the cease fire went into effect. Our subsequent meetings with UMNO Youth executive committee leaders confirmed that UMNO Youth rhetoric over the past two months was intended to appeal to UMNO's more conservative base. They have told us that it was also aimed at preventing the Islamic opposition party PAS from gaining momentum given the recent clashes between Abdullah and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed (ref D).

Having achieved those ends, UMNO Youth has returned to its preparations for the UMNO General Assembly in November and the general elections anticipated for next year. We expect the occasional jab from Khairy and his UMNO buddies as preparatory meetings for the November UMNO General Assembly continue, but we doubt the drumbeat will reach the decibel levels heard through late-July and early August.

Calls for Boycott Not Threatening

6. (C) Khairy's call for the GOM to boycott the US seems to have gained little traction publicly and politically. U.S. firms operating in Malaysia are watchful, but not overly concerned by Khairy's calls for a boycott. The local Coca-Cola bottler recalled that a similar boycott call in 2002 following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan had no impact on sales.

Both the Coke and Starbucks franchisees (the local operations actually are owned by Malaysian companies) plan to take no action, believing the best approach is not to draw further attention to the issue.

At the monthly meeting of the board of governors of the American-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) August 16, members expected that the boycott would fade quickly, so long as the situation in Lebanon remains under control. The board also agreed to take no action in response to the call for a boycott at this time.

Effect on FTA Remains To Be Seen

7. (C) We doubt that the Lebanon crisis itself had a lasting negative effect on GOM support for the FTA talks. But Khairy's opportunistic attack on the talks underscores the extent to which the negotiation may be vulnerable to Malaysian domestic politics. At a minimum, it also demonstrates the extent to which the GOM will have to work to convince even the ruling party's rank-and-file of the benefits of a FTA with the U.S.

LAFLEUR