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The Straits Times
Saturday, Dec 07, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia considers the issue of whether it was spied on by Singapore as closed, and bilateral relations remain intact, Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said.
"As far as I am concerned, the issue is closed," he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper on Wednesday.
Datuk Seri Zahid's comments came after a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Singapore Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli. The Malaysian Home Minister said: "I believe in the sharing of information and intelligence with Singapore for our mutual benefit."
The spying issue was not raised during their meeting, he was quoted as saying.
The spying allegations came on the heels of Australian media reports that Canberra tried to tap the phones of Indonesian leaders, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and his inner circle in 2009.
This sparked a furious diplomatic row between the two neighbouring countries.
In Sydney on Wednesday, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's office said she will hold talks with Indonesian officials today to repair relations strained by the allegations.
"The minister will lead a high-level delegation to Jakarta for broad-ranging discussions about the bilateral relationship, following President Yudhoyono's recent statement," a statement from her office said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Dr Yudhoyono had said in a televised address on Nov 20: "I view this issue as a serious one... I don't think that Indonesian law, Australian law or international law allows the tapping of officials of other countries."
Indonesia also called up Singapore Ambassador to Indonesia Anil Kumar Nayar last week to seek clarification.
The allegations involving Singapore's spying activities in Malaysia were published last week in Australian media as part of ongoing revelations leaked by US intelligence whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
This prompted Putrajaya to summon Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia Ong Keng Yong to seek clarification. Mr Ong said he had no knowledge of any spying activities.
Despite Mr Zahid's statement on Wednesday, the issue continued to cause rumblings. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said his movement is concerned that Malaysia does not have the tools to detect spying by other countries.
"The case may be closed, but that doesn't mean other foreign countries will not do the same. If we don't have the technological capabilities, this thing can happen again any time," he said.
Mr Khairy, who is Youth and Sports Minister, told reporters: "We can keep on criticising such activities, but if we cannot even detect them because our technology capabilities are limited, there is no point."
Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said last Friday that on intelligence matters, the Singapore Government will not confirm or deny any specific reports even if they are untrue, because the ensuing back-and-forth would be "never-ending".
"The point is that the Indonesians and Malaysians know that we won't do anything to harm their interests," he had said.
