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Malaysian premier's son linked to nukes
probe
By Anil Netto
PENANG,
Malaysia - Disturbing foreign press reports that a firm
controlled by the son of the Malaysian premier is being
probed for allegedly supplying parts for Libya's
nuclear-weapons program come amid a swirl of recent
revelations regarding the existence of a complex
international black market in nuclear parts. Such
reports come at a particularly inopportune time for the
prime minister's ruling coalition, which is gearing up
for a general election.
The allegations about
Malaysia surfaced this week in foreign media reports
about Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer
Khan, who admitted to the unauthorized transfer of
nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
According to these reports, the parts from
Malaysia were in boxes labeled "Scope", otherwise known
as Scomi Precision Engineering, a subsidiary of Scomi
Group, the mid-size oil company controlled by Prime
Minister Abdullah Badawi's son, Kamaluddin.
Scomi said it had won a contract, arranged by B
S A Tahir, a Sri Lankan businessman now under
investigation, to ship 14 "semi-finished components" to
Gulf Technical Industries, a customer in Dubai. The deal
was worth RM13 million (US$3.4 million) and comprised
four consignments that were shipped between December
2002 and August of last year, the company said. However,
the company said it was not told of the "end use" of the
components, while the Malaysian government, for its
part, flatly denied that the country had in any way
contributed to the spread of nuclear technology.
US and British intelligence had reportedly
warned Malaysian police in November that Malaysian
centrifuge parts were on a Libyan-bound ship. Malaysian
Special Branch police reportedly began the investigation
after they received this information, and late on
Wednesday, Inspector General of Police Mohamed Bakri
Omar issued a statement that initial investigations into
the alleged manufacturing and shipment showed that Scope
did not have the technology or expertise to build a
centrifuge. He also said that "nuclear experts found it
difficult to ascertain positively that the components
were parts for centrifuge units".
Malaysia, a
signatory to international nuclear-weapons
non-proliferation treaties, has a small
government-backed program for developing nuclear
technology for medical and industrial uses. However,
Bakri stated that no plant in Malaysia is capable of
producing a complete centrifuge unit.
Still,
opposition politician Lim Kit Siang said Bakri's
statements were not helpful as there was no categorical
denial for the accusations, nor did he address the
question as to whether Malaysia was part of a wider
international nuclear-black-market network.
Implications of an investigation
The
investigation is likely to put the ruling coalition on
the defensive and embarrass Prime Minister Abdullah,
whom the media have projected as Mr Clean. Abdullah
himself has welcomed the probe, although headlines such
as "Malaysia PM's son in nuclear link" may dent his
international stature and provide fodder for the
opposition. Abdullah's coalition has been tipped to win
easily in snap elections, widely expected to be held
next month even though the current term does not expire
until November.
As for Malaysia's
nuclear-weapons concerns, the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report on Tuesday saying
that its director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, has put
the focus on an emerging and sophisticated "nuclear
black market" in weapons technology. "Considerable light
on the global network has come from the IAEA's ongoing
verification of nuclear programs in Iran and Libya," he
said. He stressed that the picture emerging so far has
not implicated governments, but rather points to
individuals involved in illicit trafficking of material
and equipment.
Investigations in Malaysia are
likely to be clouded by a potential conflict of
interest. As Lim pointed out, Scope is a subsidiary of
Scomi, which in turn is controlled by Abdullah's son,
while the police, on the other hand, come under the
control of the Home Ministry, a portfolio held by
Abdullah.
Even then, initial press reports
regarding the investigation may not carry as much weight
as it seems, and if the attention the media are giving
the story continues, it may quickly lose its steam. Few
Malaysians were even aware of the unfolding story as the
mainstream media marginalized the news item. The general
reaction among Malaysians posting comments on a weblog
was that this was a storm in a teacup and just more
knee-jerk reaction from the Americans, while others felt
there was more than meets the eye. On Thursday, the
top-selling English daily, The Star, relegated the
story, which flashed around the world, to its second
page along with Bakri's comments. And only on Friday did
it mention that Abdullah's son was a controlling
shareholder in Scomi.
Instead, newspapers in
Malaysia ran a front-page report on Thursday announcing
the appointees of a royal commission created to "come up
with ways to turn the Royal Malaysian Police into a
credible force".
Police corruption takes the
lead
The name of this new body - "The Special
Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of
the Royal Malaysian Police" - appears to be something of
a euphemism. The Star sugar-coated the real issues the
commission will have to grapple with: corruption, abuse
of power, human-rights violations, custodial violence
and deaths, shootings of suspected criminals on the
streets, and a review of crime-fighting and prevention
human resources to cope with a recent spate of violent
crimes.
Former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin
Abdullah heads the 16-member commission, but already
some quarters have expressed reservations about the
preponderance of establishment personalities many of
whom have little experience in human-rights issues.
Other criticisms centered on the fact that the
commission is only an ad hoc body, whereas a permanent
structure is needed to oversee the police and stamp out
corruption in its ranks. Dzaiddin himself, when he was
at the helm of the judiciary, promised much in the way
of reforms, but in the end failed to enhance the public
perception of the independence of the judiciary.
His commission will have its work cut out for
it. The credibility of the police nosedived in 1998 when
jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim showed up in
court with a black eye he had received while in police
custody. It was later revealed that then-police chief
Rahim Noor had ordered Anwar to be blindfolded and bound
before assaulting him in police custody on the night of
his arrest. An ailing Anwar remains incarcerated,
serving prison terms totaling 15 years, while Rahim was
sentenced to two months in jail.
Meanwhile,
public gatherings continue to be banned and the police
have come down hard on attempts by reformasi
supporters to regroup in public.
Since he came
into power in November, Abdullah has ridden on a wave of
public support for his fight against corruption and
bureaucratic inefficiency. His December 29 announcement
to set up the royal commission to review police
operations showed that he is very much in touch with the
pulse of the public.
In an AsiaBarometer Survey
of 800 Malaysians in peninsular Malaysia made available
to Asia Times Online, the overall level of trust in
government and public institutions was rated fairly high
in all major institutions except for the police and the
legal system.
Political scientist Professor
Johan Saravanamuttu observed that the central government
won 91 percent overall trust (with 50 percent trusting
it a lot, the remainder trusting it to a degree), the
army chalked up 89 percent (50 percent trusting it a
lot), and parliament 89 percent (39 percent). The
police, on the other hand, recorded a relatively low 75
percent overall trust, with only 31 percent trusting it
a lot, and the legal system posted 84 percent (31
percent).
The survey also revealed that
political corruption stood as the No 1 problem in
governance, with 60 percent regarding the government as
having failed in dealing with this issue. "This is true
despite the strong trust showed to government
institutions," noted Johan.
Not surprisingly,
Abdullah's rhetoric has focused much on corruption and
involves a review of the police ahead of the general
election. He desperately wants to win the election
easily in order to legitimize his rule after taking over
from his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad. But given that
his own support base is still uncertain, perhaps even
more so after the Scomi allegations, few people are
betting on reforms that will rock the boat.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for
information on our sales and syndication policies.)
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