ADUN SPEAKS The murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, at the KL International Airport 2 on Feb 13, 2017 was not a freak accident, I bet that North Korea would not have effected such a diabolical act without the presence of a conducive environment.

The murder brought to the fore the worsening deteriorating diplomatic relations between both countries, resulting in the imposition of a ban on Malaysians leaving North Korea and a similar ban on North Koreans exiting Malaysia. While it is difficult to predict the future on the relations between both the countries, one thing is sure - the more Malaysia seeks to champion ‘rogue’ countries, the more trouble can be expected in future.

About two decades ago Malaysia was one of the strongest supporters of bringing Myanmar within the fold of Asean, but lately diplomatic relations have taken a downturn due to the Rohingya issue.

It all started with administration of Mahathir Mohamad when Malaysia took a high profile in championing the cause of some Third World countries, especially those with alleged horrendous human rights records.

Apart from Myanmar, North Korea which was considered as ‘rogue’ nation by the civilised world, received the attention of the Malaysian government. Diplomatic relations started in 1973 and gradually developed over the years, cementing both the political and trade nexus. It is estimated that Malaysia’s trade with North Korea is worth about RM18 million per annum, and this does not cover the large illicit trade that goes on with China acting as the intermediary.

Malaysia is among the few countries in the world that did not impose visa requirements for North Koreas to enter the country and such a requirement had been reciprocated by the North Korea as well. The relative ease of entry of North Koreans into the country contributed to making Malaysia a ‘save haven’ for illicit trade and other espionage activities by the North Koreans.

A recent Reuters report even suggested that the North Korea was running a spy agency in Malaysia.

During the time of Mahathir, Umno, especially its youth wing, was given the green light to establish links with the Workers Party of North Korea. Malaysia posing as the ‘champion’ of the Third World did not care to listen to the advice of the West about having ties with North Korea nor about the necessity of imposing sanctions on the country.

Despite the differences between Mahathir and Najib Abdul Razak, the latter continues to be the Third World champion. Nothing has changed under Najib and nothing was done to alter Malaysian relationship with ‘rogue’ countries like North Korea and many other organisations that have ‘terrorist’ links.

By openly attacking Myanmar on the Rohingya matter, Najib was prepared to boost his standing among the Islamic countries, immaterial of the bilateral consequences.

Three months ago, one of Malaysia’s officials involved with trade promotion boasted of North Korea “using Malaysia as getaway for South-East Asian markets”. This is despite a warning from the US State Department about the ‘nefarious’ activities of the North Koreans.

What is more, one of the leading private universities in the country went to the extent of conferring a honorary doctorate on Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s supreme leader. This is rather unbecoming of an educational institution conferring award on a person infamous for the ‘grossest human rights violence’ ever known in the history of North Korea.

Not a mere coincidence?

Going back to my earlier point, the choice of Malaysia to assassinate Kim Jong-nam was not a mere coincidence nor was it an accident.

Malaysia provided a conducive environment for North Korea to effectively carry out its diabolical plan to finish off Kim Jong-nam, considered to be an irritant to the North Korean leader.

By blindly championing the Third World, the government of Malaysia fell into the trap of ignoring the activities of spy agencies, terrorist organisations as well as individuals who use Malaysia to promote their own brand of extremism.

Hopefully, the murder of Kim Jong-nam will provide a valuable lesson for Malaysia to rethink its relationship with some rogue countries, terrorist movements and individuals who misuse Malaysia’s hospitality to disrupt the nation.

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.