KL minister blames U.S. embassy for spat

KL minister blames U.S. embassy for spat

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): A Malaysian minister yesterday blamed the United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur for misinformation which had strained relations between the two countries, the national Bernama news agency said.

"The U.S. embassy here is not giving the right information. They are sending the wrong message," Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik was quoted as telling reporters after a public function.

He accused the embassy of informing a U.S. delegation which is expected to arrive in Malaysia this week to probe a gas deal that it was "not safe (for the delegation) to come to Malaysia."

Lim did not say where he received the information from. Officials at the U.S. embassy were not immediately available for comment.

Relations between the U.S. and Malaysia hit a rough patch following a U.S. probe into a gas deal in Iran involving Malaysia's national oil firm Petronas.

Washington says the deal violates a U.S. law that can impose sanctions on companies doing business with Iran and is sending a team to Malaysia to discuss the matter.

The Malaysian government says the U.S. law interferes with Petronas's overseas business dealings.

A separate issue involving a draft resolution by a group of U.S. Congressmen who asked Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to apologize or quit for alleged remarks about Jews, also angered Malaysians.

The Malaysian cabinet on Wednesday said the call for Mahathir to resign "exceeded the norms of diplomatic engagement and transgress what we would call polite dissent".

The Kuala Lumpur embassy on Thursday issued a security alert after receiving two telephone calls threatening harm to Americans working in Malaysia.

Lim, also the president of Parti Gerakan, a component party of the ruling National Front party headed by Mahathir, accused the embassy for being "alarmists".

"They (the embassy) pour oil when they see a little smoke, not even fire," he was quoted by Bernama as saying.

"They are the ones who tell the Americans "don't come or you are liable to be shot". Do you think it is right? Are they not alarmists?," he said.

Separately, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Hamid Othman said yesterday he had no information on a group which was said to have issued the death threat, Bernama said.

Abdul Hamid said he had read about the Malaysian Moslem Martyrs' Movement in news reports but had no details of the group.

Diplomatic sources in Kuala Lumpur told Reuters on Friday that the previously-unheard of movement had claimed responsibility for the threat to kill four Americans in Malaysia. About 6,100 Americans work in Malaysia.