Wimpish Malaysia may lose the Great Game

United States was planning fierce retribution against  Malaysia with some help from a refuge nation  called SINGAPORE

Malaysia’s wimpish Parliament today rejected an emergency motion brought about by Shamsul Iskandar Akin (PKR-Bukit Katil) to condemn United States, Singapore and Australia over allegations that the three countries were involved in spying on Malaysia. response to Singaporew’s double-dealing isn’t likely to generate oodles of gratitude. A beleagueredMalaysia  has reacted to its own embarrassment with a heady cocktail of victimhood, nationalism and anti-Americanism. Such an outburst can’t be delinked from that country’s pet hates. When it comes to Singapore, Malaysia  is often loath to even practice al taqiyya—so profound is its fear Singapore’s skills of absorption. This may explain Putra Jaya’s calculated over-reaction to notional threats of Singapore special operations. For Singapore, anti- Malay is the national adhesive. In the normal course, India would have been an additional pressure point on Najib. Having abandoned that option,    he has made itself redundant in the Great Game.yet to open his mouth

A televised speech on the choices facing Pakistan. In a rambling address, Musharraf drew inspiration from the early history of Islam. The Prophet, he reminded viewers, had negotiated the Treaty of Hudaibiya with the Quraish of Mecca. The truce may have seemed a climb down and an admission of weakness but it offered the army of Islam the elbow room to spread the faith throughout the Arabian Peninsula. It was an invigorated Islam that finally regained Mecca. knew less than her bravado believes, and might even have been turned into a conduit of misinformation, without her knowledge, after she was uncovered. But she does constitute a gigantic Indian failure. Only saps get sucked into such soft snares, and an Indian diplomat, and an Indian mission, leapt at the bait hook, line and sinker.

You don’t have to be beautiful to be Mata Hari; you merely have to be available. Margaretha Zelle, the Dutch-born, Paris-based, World War 1 German agent who made spying synonymous with sexual frisson, was actually a bit of a podge who couldn’t get a job in a vaudeville chorus line because she wasn’t “cute” and became a circus horse-rider.
One pithy observer thought she was as attractive with clothes as without them, which may or may not have been a compliment. She was driven to striptease by despair: she fled her husband, an officer in the Dutch colonial army, posted to Indonesia, and an alcoholic who beat her regularly and mercilessly.But she had an extraordinary talent, the ability to trump the real with the surreal. She reinvented herself as an expert in the secret and mysterious arts of “Indian” erotica (hence the name ‘Mata Hari’), learnt during her interlude in Java, and became a sensation. She was not much of a spy actually; she did more spending than spying. The Germans, cold to a fault, betrayed her, and she ended up before a French firing squad in 1917.It is not, presumably, compulsory, but it is clearly useful for a potential spy to have a split personality. The pain of the tragedy, or failure, is subsumed by the surreal. But a fevered imagination also weakens or even erases the constraints of duty and morality that bind real life.

Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim today revealed that money changed hands, which led to Malaysia losing its claim on Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore in 2007.That revelation was made in Mat Zain’s 31-page statutory declaration sent to the Prime Minister’s Office on October 9.”In the accompanying letter to the Prime Minister, I urged him to focus on paragraph 54 (e),(f) and (g) of the SD , which revealed the wrongdoings of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who handled the Pulau Batu Puteh case.”Also included was information that a large amount of money changed hands and was credited into a bank account in Hong Kong,” said Mat Zain.He also defended his earlier allegation that Abdul Gani was the reason that Malaysia lost the case which was heard at the International Court of Justice in 2007.In his SD, Mat Zain claimed that Abdul Gani had intentionally lost the case.”Studies made on the ICJ proceeding notes showed that a ‘controversial photograph’ was added in a few days before the case was heard, which can be seen as trying to dupe the ICJ panel,” said Mat Zain.Putrajaya had denied the claim that Malaysia lost its claim on Pulau Batu Puteh due to a wrong photograph of the location of the island submitted by Abdul Gani in the proceedings.”The AG did not head the case and did not have the final say on the handling of the case,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri in Parliament last week.”So the allegations that the AG had shown a wrong photograph as claimed by the opposition leader (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) is baseless and made without any verification.”Mat Zain said if the SD had been made public before the Umno party polls last month, it would have affected Sabah Umno representatives who contested, adding there was a link between Abdul Gani and politicians in the state.Mat Zain urged Putrajaya to appeal the ICJ decision on the Pulau Batu Puteh case for the sake of the country’s honour.”We still have four and a half years more to file an appeal to ICJ if there was enough evidence to do so.”No matter how slim our chances are, we cannot let it go just like that,” the former Kuala Lumpur CID chief stressed.It was previously reported that on August 10, Mat Zain met former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusoff and Dr Mahathir’s former political secretary Matthias Chang.Their discussion reportedly centred on Abdul Gani’s alleged wrongdoings, including fabrication of evidence in the infamous “black eye” incident of 1998 involving former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.Mat Zain, then the investigating officer in that case, reportedly informed Dr Mahathir that Abdul Gani, then a senior deputy public prosecutor, had fabricated evidence to suggest that Anwar’s injury was self-inflicted.Mat Zain also claimed that Abdul Gani deliberately lost the Pulau Batu Puteh case.Following the meeting, Mat Zain released his SD with copies to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, Solicitor General Datuk Idris Harun and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.Part of the contents of the SD was made public by Mat Zain earlier this month after he expressed his disappointment with Putrajaya for not acting on the revelations.Malaysia will summon Singapore’s High Commissioner, Mr Ong Keng Yong, today to seek a clarification over reports that allege Singapore is involved in spying activities against Malaysia.There is an obvious problem in the analogy with Mata Hari.  S’pore envoy in the  trap came from Australian newspapers claimed that secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor turned whistle-blower Edward Snowden had shown that Singapore and South Korea were helping the US and Australia tap undersea telecommunications links in Asia. These articles were picked up by the Malaysian press.

We have no confirmation yet about his expertise in the seductive arts. But gender is not the issue. Men are far more vulnerable to the inflammable concoction of ego and libido operative of singapore intelligence. But the principle of a spy’s mentality holds. Since there is never sufficient justification for the betrayal of a country, and the greed (whether for money or sex) involved must be rationalized by layers of self-deceit, the spy converts a complex, tortured fiction into his or her version of that malleable commodity called truth.

In a statement issued late last night, Malaysia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, said the country was investigating the matter.

“The Malaysian authorities have taken appropriate actions with regard to earlier allegations of spying by the United States and Australia. The Malaysian authorities are now investigating thoroughly the latest media report about the involvement of other countries, in particular Singapore, in the spying activities against Malaysia,” the press statement said.

The statement comes after Australian newspapers claimed that secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor turned whistle-blower Edward Snowden had shown that Singapore and South Korea were helping the US and Australia tap undersea telecommunications links in Asia. These articles were picked up by the Malaysian press.

Neighbouring Singapore is a key partner of the “5-Eyes” intelligence group which was revealed to have tapped telephones and monitored communications networks in Kuala Lumpur, according to more top secret documents leaked by intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden.

In a report by Australian media group Fairfax Media today quoting Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, it was revealed that Singapore is a key “third party” providing the ring — made of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — access to Malaysia’s communications channel.

Singapore was included in a map published by NRC, which showed the US’ stranglehold on trans-Pacific communications channels through interception facilities on the US’ West coast, Hawaii and Guam.

The facilities, in turn, tap all cable traffic across the Pacific Ocean, and links between Australia and Japan.

In August, Fairfax had reported that the Singaporean intelligence is a partner of Australia’s electronic espionage agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, to tap the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable that runs from Japan, via Singapore, Djibouti, Suez and the Straits of Gibraltar to Northern Germany.

This access was allegedly facilitated by Singaporean telecommunication operator Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), which is owned by Singapore government’s investment arm Temasek Holdings.

Singapore’s head of civil service Peter Ong, who had previously been in charge of national security and intelligence co-ordination in its prime minister’s office, is the government’s representative on the telco firm’s board.

It is believed that SingTel had been responsible in expanding the ties between Australia and Singapore’s intelligence and defence in the past 15 years, said the report.

According to Fairfax, Malaysia and Indonesia had been key targets for both Australian and Singaporean intelligence even since the 1970s, since most of its telecommunications and Internet traffic goes through the island city-state.

Last month, Snowden had revealed that the US runs a monitoring station in its Kuala Lumpur embassy to tap telephones and monitor communications networks.

A map originally published by Germany magazine Der Spiegel and sighted by Fairfax, showed 90 electronic surveillance facilities worldwide, including in US embassies in Jakarta, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Yangon.

Dated August 13, 2010, the map however did not show any such facilities in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, and Japan, which are the US’ closest allies.

In August, Australian intelligence sources had confirmed that top-secret intelligence tool XKeyscore — which was revealed by on-the-run Snowden — has been used to spy on Malaysia among other Asia-Pacific countries.

The XKeyscore programme boasted that by 2008 over 300 terrorists had been captured from intelligence gathered by the tool.

Edward Snowden: New leaks have revealed the involvement of Australia in the interception of global satellite communications. Photo: Reuters

Singapore and South Korea are playing key roles helping the United States and Australia tap undersea telecommunications links across Asia, according to top secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. New details have also been revealed about the involvement of Australia and New Zealand in the interception of global satellite communications.

A top secret United States National Security Agency map shows that the US and its “Five Eyes” intelligence partners tap high speed fibre optic cables at 20 locations worldwide. The interception operation involves cooperation with local governments and telecommunications companies or else through “covert, clandestine” operations.

The undersea cable interception operations are part of a global web that in the words of another leaked NSA planning document enables the “Five Eyes” partners – the US, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – to trace “anyone, anywhere, anytime” in what is described as “the golden age” signals intelligence.

The NSA map, published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad overnight, shows that the United States maintains a stranglehold on trans-Pacific communications channels with interception facilities on the West coast of the United States and at Hawaii and Guam, tapping all cable traffic across the Pacific Ocean as well as links between Australia and Japan.

Advertisement

The map confirms that Singapore, one of the world’s most significant telecommunications hubs, is a key “third party” working with the “Five Eyes” intelligence partners.

In August Fairfax Media reported that Australia’s electronic espionage agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, is in a partnership with Singaporean intelligence to tap the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable that runs from Japan, via Singapore, Djibouti, Suez and the Straits of Gibraltar to Northern Germany.

Australian intelligence sources told Fairfax that the highly secretive Security and Intelligence Division of Singapore’s Ministry of Defence co-operates with DSD in accessing and sharing communications carried by the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable as well as the SEA-ME-WE-4 cable that runs from Singapore to the south of France.

Access to this major international telecommunications channel, facilitated by Singapore’s government-owned operator SingTel, has been a key element in an expansion of Australian-Singaporean intelligence and defence ties over the past 15 years.

Majority owned by Temask Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore Government, SingTel has close relations with Singapore’s intelligence agencies. The Singapore Government is represented on the company’s board by the head of Singapore’s civil service, Peter Ong, who was previously responsible for national security and intelligence co-ordination in the Singapore Prime Minister’s office.

Australian intelligence expert, Australian National University Professor Des Ball has described Singapore’s signal’s intelligence capability as “probably the most advanced” in South East Asia, having first been developed in cooperation with Australia in the mid-1970s and subsequently leveraging Singapore’s position as a regional telecommunications hub.

Indonesia and Malaysia have been key targets for Australian and Singaporean intelligence collaboration since the 1970s. Much of Indonesia’s telecommunications and Internet traffic is routed through Singapore.

The leaked NSA map also shows South Korea is another key interception point with cable landings at Pusan providing access to the external communications of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has long been a close collaborator with the US Central Intelligence Agency and the NSA, as well as the Australian intelligence agencies. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation recently engaged in legal action in an unsuccessful effort to prevent publication of details of South Korean espionage in Australia. ASIO Director-General David Irvine told the Federal Court that Australian and South Korean intelligence agencies had been cooperating for “over 30 years” and that any public disclose of NIS activities would be “detrimental” to Australia’s national security.

The NSA map and other documents leaked by Mr Snowden and published by the Brazilian O Globo newspaper also reveal new detail on the integration of Australian and New Zealand signals intelligence facilities in the interception of satellite communications traffic by the “Five Eyes” partners.

For the first time it is revealed that the DSD satellite interception facility at Kojarena near Geraldton in Western Australia is codenamed “STELLAR”.  The New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau facility at Waihopai on New Zealand’s South Island is codenamed “IRONSAND”.  The codename for DSD’s facility at Shoal Bay near Darwin is not identified. However all three facilities are listed by the NSA as “primary FORNSAT (foreign satellite communications) collection operations”.

Coverage of satellite communications across Asia and the Middle East is also supported by NSA facilities at the United States Air Force base at Misawa in Japan, US diplomatic premises in Thailand and India, and British Government Communications Headquarters facilities in Oman, Nairobi in Kenya and at the British military base in Cyprus.

The leaked NSA map also shows that undersea cables are accessed by the NSA and the British GCHQ through military facilities in Djibouti and Oman, thereby ensuring maximum coverage of Middle East and South Asian communications.