Wikileaks - Singapore Diplomats

[Cobra]

Big fat red faces for Singapore leaders

Philip Dorling and Nick McKenzie - The Sydney Morning Herald
December 12, 2010

MALAYSIA'S "dangerous" decline is fuelled by incompetent politicians, Thailand is dogged by corruption and a "very erratic" crown prince, Japan is a "big fat loser" and India is ''stupid''.

So say some of Singapore's highest ranking officials, according to leaked US State Department cables which are likely to spark intense political controversy in the region.

The cables, leaked exclusively to The Sun-Herald by WikiLeaks, detail separate meetings between senior US officials and Singapore's Foreign Affairs chiefs Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh.

Advertisement: Story continues below The trio, who at the time of the 2008 and 2009 cables occupied some of the most senior positions in the foreign ministry, all give US officials damning assessments of Malaysia. According to one cable detailing a meeting in September 2008, Mr Kausikan told US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney there was a "distinct possibility of racial conflict" which could see ethnic Chinese "flee" Malaysia and "overwhelm" Singapore.

Mr Ho's assessment of Malaysia in March that year, given to another US official, is also unflattering and includes claims that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had been "throwing stones" at his replacement, Abdullah Badawi.

In his September meeting with Mr Sedney, Mr Kausikan savaged Thailand's political elite, labelling Thaksin Shinawatra as "corrupt" along with "everyone else, including the opposition". Mr Kausikan was also critical of Mr Thaksin's relationship with the Thai crown prince, saying he "made a mistake in pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the crown prince's gambling debts".

In a September 2009 meeting, Mr Koh savaged Japan and India, describing Japan as ''the big fat loser'' in the context of improving ties between China and ASEAN, a cable says, adding: "He was equally merciless towards India, describing his 'stupid Indian friends' as 'half in, half out' of ASEAN."

[Cobra]

WikiLeaks hits Singapore diplomats
Posted: 12 December 2010 1132 hrs


SINGAPORE: Singapore diplomats think the leaders of some close Asian allies are corrupt or incompetent, cables from WikiLeaks revealed Sunday.

Confidential diplomatic notes given by the whistleblower website to Australia's Fairfax media group contained unflattering assessments of key figures in Malaysia, Thailand, India and Japan.

"A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia," permanent secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bilahari Kausikan reportedly told US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney in a cable dated September 2008.

As such, "the situation in neighbouring Malaysia is confused and dangerous," fuelled by a "distinct possibility of racial conflict" that could see ethnic Chinese "flee" Malaysia and "overwhelm" Singapore, Bilahari was quoted as saying.

Another official, Peter Ho, reportedly described Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak as "an opportunist" who "would not hesitate" to be critical of Singapore if "it is expedient for him to do so."

He said allegations linking Najib to the murder of a Mongolian woman in 2006, which the leader has strongly rejected, would continue to "haunt" his political fortunes.

Bilahari was also critical of the Thai government in 2008, labelling then premier Thaksin Shinawatra as "corrupt" along with "everyone else, including the opposition."

He also said the Thai crown prince was "very erratic, and easily subject to influence," and warned of continued instability in Thailand.

In another 2009 memo, Singapore's ambassador at large Tommy Koh -- known for being mild-mannered and eloquent in public -- was uncharacteristically blunt in his assessment of Japan and India.

"Koh described Japan as 'the big fat loser' in the context of improving ties between China and ASEAN," a leaked cable detailing a meeting between him and US officials stated.

"He attributed the relative decline of Japan's stature in the region to Japan's 'stupidity, bad leadership, and lack of vision,'" it added.

"He was equally merciless towards India, describing it as 'half in, half out' of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.)"

There was no immediate reaction from the Singapore government to the leaks but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) earlier issued a statement saying it is "critical to protect the confidentiality of diplomatic and official correspondence".

"Which is why Singapore has the Official Secrets Act (OSA)," an MFA spokesman said.

He said: "In particular, the selective release of documents, especially when taken out of context, will only serve to sow confusion and fail to provide a complete picture of the important issues that were being discussed (among) leaders in the strictest of confidentiality."

-AFP/CNA/wk


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_singapore/view/1098708/1/.html

[Cobra]

WikiLeaks: Malaysia issues protest note to Singapore over comments Submitted by Najiah on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Anifah AmanLocalwikileaksASEAN

Bernama
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 20:48:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry today issued a protest note to Singapore over disparaging remarks made against Malaysian leaders by the republic's Foreign Ministry senior officials to US officials which were exposed by WikiLeaks.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, said he had summoned the Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia, T. Jasudasen, to his office at Parliament building this morning to hand over the protest note and convey Malaysia's displeasure over the uncalled for remarks.

"I ask the Singapore government, what benefit are the remarks to the long-standing bilateral relations between our two countries and the efforts made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart (Lee Hsien Loong) to strengthen the relations?" he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Anifah was referring to the expose by WikiLeaks based on information obtained from the US State Department cables dated November 2008 which carried the offending remarks about Malaysia's leadership and the situation in the country.

The cables also recorded disparaging remarks made by the Singapore officials against Thailand, Japan and India during their meetings with US State Department senior officials.

Anifah said Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations was currently close, but the statements made by the Singapore Foreign Ministry senior officials were not helping to strengthen the relations.

He said their assessment of Malaysia's leadership as exposed by the WikiLeaks website was surprising as Malaysia's development process and how it managed development were different from Singapore's due to the different socio-political background.

"We have three main races, namely the Malays, Chinese and Indians....but if I'm not mistaken, altogether we have some 214 ethnic groups in this country.

"I don't know that they mean by our leaders being 'incompetent' when we have to look after the interest of so many groups and go to the ground to meet them, in line with 'the people first, performance now' concept which Singapore may find trivial," he said.

Anifah said that as the Malaysian government's spokesman, it was his duty to defend Malaysian citizens, including Opposition Leader and Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.



http://www.mmail.com.my/content/57772-wikileaks-malaysia-issues-protest-note-singapore-over-comments

[zuoom]

Ok, what did they say again?

[zuoom]

did it or did it not happen? 

Singapore's response

'Singapore's High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur T. Jasudasen had been asked to see Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman this morning and received a protest note regarding press reports of US Embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks.

Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo called Datuk Seri Anifah later in the day to clarify Singapore's policy of not commenting on leaks.

On the specific complaints raised by the Malaysians, what Singapore officials were alleged by WikiLeaks to have said did not tally with our own records. One purported meeting did not even take place.

Mr Yeo and Mr Anifah agreed on the importance of good bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation further.'

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, in a statement yesterday

via : http://singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=82342

[uplinkhack]

Only they know. They can insist it didn't happen since nothing will be leaked on their side so no verification can be done.

Unless someone leak info from Singapore's side.

[zuoom]

NIPT
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ISP of this IP [?]:    Coreix Ltd
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some uk guys interested in this thread? .P

[zuoom]

Dec 20, 2010
WikiLeaks in dubious 'Battle for the Truth'
By Ong Weichong, For The Straits Times

A video, shot from a US army helicopter gunsight on July 12, 2007, shows a group of men in Baghdad just before they were fired on by the helicopter. WikiLeaks put together and released the leaked video in a way that grossly misrepresented actual events. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

ON JULY 25, the Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel published simul-taneous reports on the 'Afghan War Diary', a collection of more than 91,000 classified reports on the war in Afghanistan furnished by WikiLeaks. Since then, hundreds of thousands of United States diplomatic cables have been leaked by WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website, to a wide array of news groups, including the Sydney Morning Herald.

Viewed by some as the 'New Robin Hood' battling for government transparency, the actions of Mr Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, have inspired a network of like-minded supporters and activists. These include 'Anonymous', a group of pro-WikiLeaks 'hacktivists' responsible for Operation Payback - a botnet campaign against service providers who have withdrawn their support for WikiLeaks.

The magnitude of the 'WikiLeaks effect', though, in terms of both the nature of the leaked documents and the immediate response from like-minded activists, hides three important facts: First, many of the leaked documents do not intrinsically challenge what we already know from extant open sources. Second, many of the leaked documents are based on poorly sourced ground-level reports. Third, WikiLeaks is designed not merely to inform but also influence its target audience at the expense of national governments.

Therefore, it is imperative that governments should come to grips with the WikiLeaks effect - a free-floating ideology based on an apparent 'Battle for the Truth' propelled by a diffused network of legal and illegal Internet-based activists and supporters. The Wiki-Leaks effect creates an illusion that something is being done 'for the Truth' - even when such actions (often non-violent but illegal) threaten to destabilise international security and stability.

In a BBC report on the 'Afghan War Diary', Mr Assange claimed that since all the material was over seven months old, it had 'no current operational consequence, even though it may be of very significant investigative consequence'. The message sent to members of the armed services is clear: We appreciate the efforts of the troops but not the governments that put you in harm's way.

Nonetheless, this implied support for the troops has not been so consistent - particularly when juxtaposed against leaked footage of AH-64 Apache attack helicopter strikes on suspected Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad on July 12, 2007.

The airstrike resulted in the deaths of several Iraqi civilians including women and children. The leaked video of the airstrike made available on WikiLeaks in April this year was entitled 'Collateral Murder'. The preface to the leaked video did not provide the context leading to the airstrike in which an infantry company received incoming fire all morning from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The manner in which the Collateral Murder video was put together and released was a gross misrepresentation of actual events. Indeed, on several occasions, WikiLeaks has been criticised for its lack of credibility.

In the battle for the moral high ground, WikiLeaks has been able to exploit its 'whistle-blowing' underdog status. WikiLeaks' self-proclaimed primary aim 'to reveal unethical behaviour in governments' is a message that strikes a visceral cord with anti-establishment sentiment worldwide. WikiLeaks postings are designed for maximum visceral and political impact. The goal is to win the moral high ground without the more complex considerations faced by national governments.

These visceral emotions stirred by WikiLeaks' revelations, often couched in idealistic moral terms, can undermine the relationships between friendly countries, coalition partners and their respective electorates. As exemplified by comments in Der Spiegel, the electorates of European coalition partners in Afghanistan such as Germany are particularly sensitive to allegations of misconduct in Afghanistan.

In response, national governments need to communicate the credibility of their actions in a more effective and timely manner. Unlike national governments, WikiLeaks is not bound by the bureaucracy, complexities and norms inherent in the conduct of foreign policy - an asymmetry exploited by WikiLeaks to full advantage. In order to challenge the WikiLeaks effect, government agencies must reconsider the definition of 'need to know', 'when to know' and 'what to know' when it comes to information sharing in the public domain.

Comprehensively, national governments have to demonstrate that their intent and actions are more credible than those of their non-state opponents - particularly when collaborating as a coalition of nations on issues of common interest. To ignore the realities of the WikiLeaks effect will further erode the credibility of national governments. It will also undo the progress the international community has made in the enhancement of international security and stability.

The writer is associate research fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He is attached to the Military Transformations Programme at the school's constituent unit, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

http://singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=82780