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| Southeast Asia |
| Malaysia Is Caught in Nuclear Probe |
| 2004-02-06 |
| More details, EFL: Managers at the Malaysian factory owned by Scomi Precision Engineering, or SCOPE, opened their doors to journalists Friday in an effort to prove their contribution to nuclear proliferation — if any — was unwitting. The case raises questions about export and trade regulations on so-called "dual-use" items, components for illegal technology that are indistinguishable from common machine parts to all but the experts. Seven months ago, according to the CIA and Britain’s MI6, similar parts were found in boxes marked with SCOPE’s name aboard a ship bound for Libya. Investigators say the parts were for centrifuges, machines that can be used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons production. According to Malaysian police, SCOPE built its Shah Alam factory to fill an order from the Dubai-based Gulf Technical Industries, which negotiated a $3.4 million contract through a Sri Lankan middleman named B.S.A. Tahir. They built a entire plant to fill one order from one company? Think maybe they expected more business making "things" that they didn’t know anything about? Between December 2002 and August 2003, SCOPE shipped four consignments to the Gulf company, according to SCOPE’s parent company, the Scomi Group. Using designs from the customer, SCOPE made 14 parts from high-grade stainless steel and aluminum obtained from the Singapore branch of a German supplier, Che Lokman said. He said 15 Malaysian contractors did the work, their employment terminated when the contract was filled. Then you hire another group of contract workers for the next shipment, so no one is around long enough to notice how many are being made. Wonder if any of them have had "accidents"? Scomi group spokeswoman Rohaida Ali Badaruddin said the Gulf company never told SCOPE what the parts were for, and SCOPE never asked. The check cleared. Rohaida said SCOPE complied with government regulations in shipping the parts found in the Libya-destined crates. While an export permit is required for "sensitive items," none was sought in this case because nothing appeared out of the ordinary, she said. Just machine parts in the box, nothing to see, move along. Tahir, the middleman, visited the factory several times, as did engineers from Dubai, Che Lokman said. "To my memory," he said, Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist, Khan, never came. "I don’t remember" means you can’t be charged with lying about his visiting. Che’s talked to his lawyer. But a Malaysian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AP that Khan visited Malaysia several times — including to attend Tahir’s wedding. Tahir is looking like a bigger player all the time. National police chief Mohamed Bakri Omar said his Special Branch started investigating the Tahir-arranged deal after the CIA the MI6 informed them about the Libya shipment last November. Che Lokman said Malaysian police first came to the factory "two or three weeks ago" and that no foreign investigators had visited. I’ll wager the Malaysian government doesn’t want any foreign investigators looking around and won’t grant permission. He said the factory currently has several clients, Malaysian and international, but declined to give details citing confidentiality. "I can say no more." Malaysian authorities say they are satisfied that the components built by SCOPE may have had medical or petrochemical uses. But U.S. and European officials have told AP the components from Malaysia were highly sophisticated and would have few uses other than nuclear enrichment. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 "To my memory," he said, Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist, Khan, never came. Right out of the Clinton playbook... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-2-6 3:32:38 PM |