THE unfortunate episode of the secret letter sent by the former director-general of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) to the United States’ CIA casts a dark shadow of the cloak-and-dagger elements in our past government.

Sent just five days before the May 9 general election, the letter, besides crying for help from an external power, was also a crying shame for our nation.

Hasanah Abd Hamid of MEIO, a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department, had through the CIA asked the US for help in the event GE14 resulted in an electoral impasse or an unclear winner, leading to a struggle of power between BN and PH.

In the letter, Hasanah reasoned why the US should support the Najib Razak regime, and at the same time ran down Dr Mahathir Mohamad as anti-West, anti-Semitic, and autocratic, between other uncalled-for remarks.

By diplomatic standards, such tactics were miserably pathetic.

From the perspective of foreign relations, the unsolicited request to the US to endorse the Najib regime was a blunder, even a scandal. It exposed our desperation and vulnerability, and was a betrayal of our expressly non-aligned foreign policy.

We trashed the principles of Zopfan (Zone of peace, freedom and neutrality) which we helped propagate since 1971. It also laid bare our insincerity by playing on both sides of the two superpowers’ conflict. On one hand, we supported the US on the geopolitical tension in Southeast Asia and counter-terrorism, and on the other supported China for trade, investment, and foreign loans.

From the perspective of intelligence operations, the letter failed in the highest score. One does not reveal one’s weakness or vulnerability to others. This is a golden rule any intelligence officer must know. Otherwise, you will subject yourself to manipulation by others and have your weaknesses exploited.

It was sheer incompetence and desperation on the part of the Najib regime to have invited a foreign power to interfere with our election and internal politics. Intelligence operatives are cloak-and-dagger, and often say something but mean the opposite.

The modes of operation for foreign relations and intelligence operations have a distinctive difference and should be kept separated. By sending the letter to the CIA, we had unwittingly substituted foreign relations with intelligence operations and fouled up our credibility in a big way.

It also sent shockwaves of disbelief to other countries, especially China. We can only hope that religious radical groups, such as ISIS, do not take notice of what has transpired.

More than two months have now passed after the general election. Ministers, deputy ministers, and special officers to cabinet members have been appointed. This episode of the letter to the CIA must serve as a lesson to those holding high government and political positions. It is imperative that there will be countless social gatherings hosted by officials of foreign embassies in our capital city. The majority of our cabinet members and their special officers are raw and perhaps ill-informed of the modus operandi of foreign intelligence operatives.

Our politicians and government officials must be extra cautious in what they say, even in the most casual of occasions, like in a cocktail party. In the diplomatic circle, it is common knowledge that foreign embassies are also considered as sanctioned spying institutions. While not all information extracted may cause serious harm or have serious repercussions, it would be good for our politicians and government officials to exert extra care.

The notorious Cambridge Analytica saga that surfaced early this year regarding the procurement of women to entrap politicians and officials should also serve as a lesson learnt. After all, CA was an intelligence outfit that operated under the guise of research. This should be a clear reminder for Malaysian politicians and officials that our national interests rank supreme. They must be mindful that foreign policies and national security matters are well entwined.

In contrast, intelligence and intelligence operations are different ball games and should not be the domain of politicians, but specialist institutions. Otherwise a fiasco such as the letter to the CIA is the result. – July 26, 2018.

* Captain Dr Wong Ang Peng is a researcher with an interest in economics, politics, and health issues. He has a burning desire to do anything within the means to help the new government in rebuilding our nation and promote national harmony. Wong is also a member of the National Patriot Association.

* Captain Dr Wong Ang Peng is a researcher with an interest in economics, politics, and health issues. He has a burning desire to do anything within his means to promote national harmony. Captain Wong is also a member of the National Patriots Association.