Malaysia: Two Firms Mentioned in Wikileaks Documents

The recent leak of U.S. ‘diplomatic cables’ by Wikileaks implicated two Malaysian firms for allegedly being involved in ‘a network controlled by Iran to purchase missile technology from China’ but did not generate much buzz among the country’s citizens, with more attention being paid to domestic affairs.

However, Blogger Melvin Mah had provided an excerpt of the Wikileaks document that mentions Malaysia.

In December 2009, we shared with you information regarding attempts by the Malaysia-based firm Electronics Component Limited (ECL) to buy TRS-500 gyroscopes from the Chinese firm VibTel Industrial Co. Inc.

We now want to provide you with additional information indicating that ECL is part of a network of Iranian-controlled front companies that includes the Iranian firm Shahin Sefid Esta and the Malaysia-based front company Skylife Worldwide Sdn Bhd.

This network procures sensitive goods on behalf of a number of Iranian entities of proliferation concern, including the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), which is Iran's primary developer of liquid propellant ballistic missiles, and Heavy Metal Industries, a front company for the tactical missile developer Ya Mahdi Industries.

Coverage of the issue by the mainstream media has been largely supportive of the government, with the most-read English daily The Star reporting that the Home Ministry has been keeping an eye on the two firms and found them to be not a threat to national security.

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.

On Twitter, the search for ‘Wikileaks Malaysia’ had come up with results of Tweeters sharing news articles about the Malaysian government's response to the issue, the most widely spread news article being the one where the Malaysian government insisted that the two firms are not a threat.

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