Malaysia Programme uncovered

The 2013 elections were seen to be of great importance and George Soros (pic) had expressed a personal interest in them. — Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Leaked minutes of meeting between the Open Societies Foundation (OSF) and local groups, exposed by DC Leaks, revealed an agenda to influence domestic politics. 

Among the revelations were:

• Mobilising for the upcoming elections expected in 2018.
• The 2013 elections were seen to be of great importance and George Soros had expressed a personal interest in them. Lessons learned are to be applied in 2018.
• Greater mobilisation of the Muslim population as current involvement is not satisfactory.
• Greater mobilisation of minority groups, women, Orang Asli and rural youth. 
• Engage with Election Commission, explore any possibility of policy reform, and identify clear policy targets.
• Begin the process of leveraging the programmes’ existing networks in the country from this year onwards. 
• Develop a strong post-election mechanism to ensure documentation of any dispute can be quickly presented, unlike the 2013 election.

Other revelations:

• OSF monitors and attempts to chart domestic politics since 2010, shortly after Datuk Seri Najib Razak assumed the office of prime minister.
• The foundation had engaged in lobbying or “advocacy” in the US to shore up support for its efforts in Malaysia.
• The most successful initiative was making “grants” or providing funds for friendly groups working for a common cause.
• Following negative media exposure of Soros, the programme has proceeded in secret, with staff working quietly to minimise public exposure.
• MalaysiaKini and its online broadcast service KiniTV received special allocations for election reporting, with ongoing support outside the election season.

What is DC Leaks?

DC Leaks came into prominence after it published hacked emails of US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, currently mired in controversy over her handling of classified information.

Those leaks have received wide coverage in addition to leading to a reopening of investigations against her by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.