By Shannon Teoh
June 10, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — A Malaysian company with links to Iran tried to buy gyroscopes used for guiding missiles from China, according to a leaked United States diplomatic cable.
According to the cable released by whistleblower website Wikileaks, the US Department of State asked China in December 2009 to block the sale of TRS-500 gyroscopes from China firm VibTel Industrial to Electronics Component Limited (ECL).
The cable, which was published today on news portal Malaysia Today, said that the US embassy in Beijing was ordered to share information with Chinese officials to assist “your ability to prevent the transfer of these gyroscopes by VibTel Industrial Co. to ECL.”
“ECL is associated with a network of Iranian-controlled front companies that procure sensitive goods on behalf of a number of Iranian entities of proliferation concern,” said the document classified by the US State Department’s director of missile threat reduction Pam Durham.
According to the cable, China had agreed to look into the matter but asked for additional information on ECL’s relationship to Iranian firms.
The US said that ECL was linked to Iranian firms “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.”
“Both SHIG and Ya Mahdi Industries are sanctioned under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1737,” the cable said, adding that the gyroscopes, used in ballistic and cruise missiles as well as unmanned aircraft, are prohibited for export to Iran under the same resolution.
It also said that ECL had links with another Malaysia-based front company Skylife Worldwide Sdn Bhd.
It is the second time in recent years that a Malaysian company has been linked to Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions.
Seven years ago the US named a unit of the Scomi group controlled by Datuk Kamaluddin Abdullah Ahmad, son of then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, as having shipped components for enriching uranium to Iran.
Sri Lankan businessman Buhary Seyed Abu Tahir was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly deceiving Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd (Scope) into manufacturing a component believed to be for nuclear weapons.
However, Tahir, who is a permanent resident of Malaysia, was released in 2008 subject to conditions which were reported to have been lifted a year later.
#1 by undertaker888 on Friday, 10 June 2011 - 10:48 am
All these local companies sure link to you-know-who party. the one with the crooked knife. ya as crooked as the knife, these buggers. time for US of A to straighten this knife up.
#2 by dagen on Friday, 10 June 2011 - 11:16 am
Only umno people will do a thing like this. And this is potentially a national security issue. The world may move the UN to sanction malaysia and that will be the end of us. NEP or no NEP, habis.
Umno may hanky panky all the way within the border of the country. But the moment umno steps outside that border umno would immediately come under the laws and control of other people. So umno jolly well behave. But having claimed for itself the status of the “supreme race of the world” umno thought it could act with complete impunity anywhere on earth. Not so brader. Not so.
Actually we have had enough of umno’s hanky panky for 50yrs. It is time we boot umno out.
#3 by k1980 on Friday, 10 June 2011 - 2:05 pm
Actually Iran’s rulers are quite intelligent. They know that NATO would never dare attack Iran if it possesses weapons of mass destruction. If Saddam and Gaddafi have them, nobody would ever dream of invading their countries. Good example is North Korea with its A-bombs.
#4 by public on Friday, 10 June 2011 - 5:31 pm
This guy is a PR in Malaysia. After his arrest by ISA, why isn’t his PR revoked for the best interests of national security? or has ISA admits that they arrested him wrongly?
#5 by good coolie on Friday, 10 June 2011 - 10:56 pm
Well, at least we caught this Iran-sympathiser. Now the Yanks have no excuse to send Rambo and Chuck Norris to Malaysia.
#6 by ktteokt on Saturday, 11 June 2011 - 10:07 am
Another opportunity for our corrupt leaders to gain kickbacks! Wonder if any middlewoman is involved this time, and if there is, then she better watch out! May just end up like ALTANTUYA!