Home Ministry to look into US spy claims

Malaysia is looking into allegations by intelligence whistle-blower Edward Snowden, that the United States runs a monitoring station at its Kuala Lumpur embassy to tap telephones and monitor communications networks.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he viewed the matter seriously, adding that the ministry will study the report.

"We will study the report. If there was any intelligence gathering activities here, as we understand that, it is a sensitive issue since it involves several countries.

"We will work with Wisma Putra to see if there was any spying conducted here... if there was, we leave it to Wisma Putra (Ministry of Foreign Affair) to take action," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

It was reported on Tuesday that documents leaked by Snowden revealed that there were 90 electronic surveillance facilities worldwide, including in US embassies in Jakarta, Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Yangon.

It was also stated that a map originally published by German magazine Der Spiegel and touched on by dailies such as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age did not show such facilities in countries such as Singapore, New Zealand, Britain, Japan and Australia, that are touted to be the US' closest allies.

In August, Australian intelligence sources had confirmed that top secret intelligence tool, XKeyscore, has been used to spy on Malaysia and some other Asia-Pacific countries.

The Sun, Page: 1

By Hemananthani Sivanandam

Thursday, 31 October 2013