Covert agency appears in US reports
Search on WikiLeaks shows nine embassy documents mentioning Malaysia
PETALING JAYA: A search on whistleblower website WikiLeaks shows the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (Meio) has been mentioned several times in reports sent by the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia’s little-known external covert intelligence agency, which came under the spotlight after a letter by its former chief to the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was leaked, appeared in nine diplomatic cables that were part of the cache of documents uploaded by WikiLeaks.
An example was a report sent by the US Embassy dated May 8, 2006 and classified as “secret”.
The report to the US Defence Secretary ahead of a visit by the US Pacific Fleet Commander mentioned Meio’s role in hosting peace talks between the Phlippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
“The talks are hosted by the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation, which in the past covertly supported separatist activities in Mindanao,” the report stated.
Other US Embassy cables which discussed the insurgency in southern Thailand and efforts by various parties in efforts to seek peace also mentioned Meio.
One dated Feb 13, 2007, stated that the then honorary Thai consul in Langkawi had expressed his belief that a recent visit to Thailand by Malaysia’s then prime minister would result in the Meio taking up a facilitation role in discussions between Thai intelligence and southern insurgents.
On May 4, five days before the last general election, a letter by Meio’s then directorgeneral Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid that reportedly appealed to the United States to support Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration was leaked.
The letter was addressed to CIA director Gina Haspel.
On Tuesday, Hasanah lodged a police report calling on the police to probe the individuals responsible for the leak of the confidential letter which she said fell under the Official Secrets Act.
In a statement, Hasanah said the leak had destroyed the trust foreign intelligence agencies had in Meio and jeopardised ties between the agency and its foreign counterparts.
Hasanah explained in her statement that Meio – which uses the formal name of the Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department – was set up in the 1960s.
She said Meio had contributed much to national security including resolving the Communist threat, confrontation with Indonesia, regional conflicts and most recently the Daesh threat.