MEIO agents in fear after letter to CIA leaked, lawyer claims

MEIO agents in fear after letter to CIA leaked, lawyer claims

Published 18 hours ago on 31 July 2018

By Kenneth Tee

Shaharudin said the leaked letter was 'drafted, vetted and analysed' by at least 10 senior MEIO officers before it was signed by Hasanah. ― Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 ― Lawyer Datuk Shaharudin Ali claimed today that Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) agents worldwide are in fear for their safety after a letter penned by their former chief to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was leaked.

Shaharudin, who is representing former MEIO director-general Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid, said his client has also requested the Chief Government Security Office to probe the matter as well for breach in security protocols among civil servants.

“My client suspected it was someone with direct access to such files in her office,” he told reporters here.

Hasanah filed a police report over the matter at the Jalan Travers police station earlier.

“This is a wake-up call to all intelligence agencies in the country that these sort of leakage should never be tolerated and could possibly pose danger to other similar agencies in relation with MEIO worldwide.”

“This leakage has caused MEIO agents located worldwide to fear for their safety and subsequently demoralised them because they are afraid that information they supplied could also be at risk of being exposed,” he added.

He explained that the MEIO, which was set up in the 1960s and worked together with other agencies such as the Special Branch, Military Intelligence and the National Security Council, has contributed much to national security during the Malayan Emergency, the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and most recently against Islamic State threats.

The lawyer also said the leaked letter was “drafted, vetted and analysed” by at least 10 senior MEIO officers before it was signed by Hasanah, and was made in good faith towards the CIA.

“Therefore the MEIO letter dated May 4 is not something extraordinary and far from being treasonous as claimed by certain parties.

“Those are lies, nonsense and does not make any sense because MEIO has the mandate to look after national security,” he added, saying the letter must not cause polemics among the public.

The three-page letter signed by Hasanah, congratulated the new CIA director Gina Haspel and appealed for the United States to support Najib’s administration “even if Barisan Nasional won the election by a simple majority or just one seat.”

The letter supposedly read that any indication that the US government would continue to support Najib and his government would “definitely strengthen stability and enhance the existing cordial relationship driven by the strong rapport between the two leaders.”

The letter stated that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was anti-West, anti-Semitic and autocratic, while also ignoring human rights and the rule of law.

The letter was written on May 4, just a week before GE14.