A new ambassador of the United States of America to Malaysia will arrive in Kuala Lumpur and assume duties in late September, sources told malaysiakini .

Sources said James R Keith, a former US consul general in Hong Kong, is to succeed Christopher J LaFleur "whose term of office in Malaysia has expired."

A career US foreign service officer since 1980, the Mandarin and Indonesian speaking Keith is also a former director of the office of Chinese affairs at the US Department of State in Washington. He has also been posted to US embassies in Beijing, Jakarta and Seoul.

Sources also told malaysiakini that Keith, who is also knowledgeable in the Korean language, has also learnt Bahasa Malaysia.

Keith was a member of the National Security Council under then US presidents George W Bush sr and Bill Clinton.

Keith's posting as the new US ambassador to Malaysia was nominated by President George W Bush.

In his statement, dated May 22, 2007, submitted to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for confirmation, Keith noted that although "the United States and Malaysia have had policy differences that required public expression in strong term", but "in recent years, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has set a path forward that promises an increasingly productive relationship and greater congruence between the interests of America and Malaysia."

"If confirmed, I will devote my energies to improving and strengthening US-Malaysia relations, while openly discussing issues on which we differ," he said.

He said one example of differing perspectives between US and Malaysia is "our respective views on Iran."

"We remain opposed to foreign investment in Iran's oil and gas sector, as a matter of law and policy. If confirmed, I will continue to make clear our concerns about such investment, and to emphasise that we are vigorously opposed to business as usual with Iran and want other nations to join us in dissuading Teheran from pursuing a nuclear weapons programme," he added.

Security relations

On the security relation between the two countries, Keith observes in his statement that bilateral military cooperation "is growing and includes exchanges of visits and training, equipment sales, combined exercises, and, increasingly, naval ship visits."

"One clear area of common interest is the growing cooperation between our officials working on security and law enforcement issues. Southeast Asia is an important front in the war on terror and we depend on Malaysia to be an effective and cooperative player in the region's vital counterterrorism programmes.

"Malaysian authorities have responded vigorously to the threat posed by Jemmah Islamiah and Abu Sayyaf groups, contributing to the security and prosperity of both our nations," he added.

Keith also said the US security attention in the region "is focussed in particular on the Straits of Malacca, an area of vital national interest as it is a major conduit for the world's commercial shipping."

"We need to assist littoral states through intelligence sharing and capacity building to take on the primary task of protecting the straits.

"If confirmed, I look forward to working closely with our senior uniformed and civilian military leaders, including my colleagues at the Pacific Command in Hawaii, to advance our security ties with Malaysia," he said.

However, Keith admitted that "far too few Malaysians hold positive views of the United States" and he promised to improve the people-to-people relations between Malaysia and the US through educational exchanges and tourism.

He also promised to upgrade the public outreach capacity of the US diplomatic mission in Malaysia throughout the country "to provide an accurate basis from which the Malaysian people can form opinions about the American people, our values, and our goals in the world."