K
Kenshin Uesugi
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Saturday December 4, 2010
Two Malaysian companies pose no threat
By JOSHUA FOONG
[email protected] PUTRAJAYA: The two Malaysian companies implicated by Wikileaks as being involved in a network controlled by Iran to purchase missile technology from China have been cleared of any wrongdoing and pose no threat to national security.
“We have been monitoring these two companies since 2008 and from our observations, they are of no threat to national security,” Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said at a press conference here yesterday.
Claiming that reports on the whistleblower website WikiLeaks were not new, Hishammuddin said the more surprising thing was speculation that the Malaysian Government was not doing more to stop the two firms.
“If they (international agencies) have any doubts or new information, why not just ask us instead of communicating and speculating among themselves?” he asked, adding that the ministry was in contact with the FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies.
Hishammuddin also said his ministry had been given full cooperation and spoken to the directors of the two companies. “If they are identified as a threat, they will not be here any more.
“What’s most important is that they are under our radar and we can safely say there is no relation to any terrorism-related activities,” he added. The ministry is working closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry on the case.
According to a “secret” diplomatic cable, exposed by WikiLeaks, the US embassy in Beijing asked the Chinese government to investigate and block any attempt to procure TRS-500 gyroscopes from Chinese firm VibTel Industrial CoInc.
The TRS-500 gyroscopes (instruments to measure and maintain the orientation and stabilisation of flying vehicles) were sought by the Malaysian-based Electronics Component Limi-ted (ECL). It also claimed that ECL, with another Malay-sian company Skylife Worldwide Sdn Bhd, had been linked to a network of Iranian-controlled front companies that procure sensitive goods for Iranian entities.
