'Defence secret leaked' – reads the The Star online Friday 5, 2009. It surprises many, especially those from the defence and security fraternity. A colleague of mine who had served many years and in various capacities in the Defence Intelligence organisation, Ministry of Defence called me frantically to ask me if I knew anything concerning the report. I replied that I do not know much, other than what was reported in the media. He voiced his disappointment at what he claims as a serious breach of security, and he believes that the person(s) involved may have acted out of greed for money.
The above revelation comes at a time when the nation, and the Defence Ministry in particular is facing public outrage over the loss of two RMAF jet fighter engines, caused by what seemed a serious lapse in base security, and where unbelievably, only one RMAF personnel and a civilian businessman is reportedly involved. Strange though it seemed; but government investigations concluded that only two people were involved.
And recently in the USA, Dong Chung, a neutralised US citizen of Chinese origin; formerly a Boeing engineer who was found guilty in July 2009 of passing space shuttle secrets to the PRC was sentenced to a 15 year jail term by the Californian court for an offence under a 1996 espionage law. Dong Chung is the first person to be convicted under that law.
I do not know what is the nature and gravity of the defence secret leak that the Defence Ministry is referring to, but by using the term 'defence secret', I presume it is serious enough to hurt and breach our national defence and security plan(s). And if my aforesaid presumption is true, our defence intelligence fraternity should not have acted in isolation (hopefully not); rather they should have sought the co-operation of the police Special Branch (SB) and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), before a formal announcement (with explicit details) is made by the Defence Ministry, or by any other related government official. I believe an announcement can only be made upon the completion of an exhaustive investigation carried out by our investigating agencies, and not before. To say that the matter is still under investigation smacks of the lack of professionalism in dealing with such extreme defence and security issues; what more if it is related to a breach in defence secrets as reported.
The term 'defence secret' connotes a highly sensitive issue that is of national interest, and for those involved in breaching national defence and security secrets are deemed to have committed a grievous crime. And since little is known about the nature of the defence secret leak, it would be rather difficult for anyone to speculate the nature of punishment to be meted upon the perpetrators; but a warning is certainly inappropriate to the nature of the crime, if indeed it involves the giving out of a defence secret to an unauthorised person.
Taking the case of Dong Chung above, a 15 year long prison sentence is a severe punishment, and it can serve as an example for the case facing the Defence Ministry today. Catching the culprit(s) and punishing them to a jail sentence does not really end the matter. In fact, it is just the beginning, in the search to find the root cause of the leak and to seek ways on how to manage and enforce greater security against another attempt at breaching defence and security secrets.
This incident may not be the last since trying to obtain the host country's defence secrets by foreign Defence Attache in the country is part of their responsibility. This is common knowledge, and I suppose our Defence Attache serving overseas does likewise.
The other concern that many members of the Armed Forces does not realised (some deliberately) is the way many foreign defence agents work with our military officers to obtain defence secrets. When dealing with foreign defence agents (some have reaped huge profits), our military officers will inadvertently trade defence secrets with them over a game of golf followed by a sumptuous dinner (fine cigars included). And the trading gets even more boisterous if the military officers are offered an all expense paid trips to visit defence factories overseas; with some even getting a Rolls Royce to await them at the airports. And don't these officers know that receiving preferred treatment by foreign defence agents is a form of corruption – a subtle one though?
If the government and the Defence Ministry is serious in curbing the outflow of defence secrets in the future, its has to have very strict ruling and procedures governing any interaction by members of the Armed Forces with foreign military forces(especially among the officers corps), as well as their relationship with foreign defence agents that are sometimes treated like VIP's by Defence Ministry officials (military and civilians alike).
CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION
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Dato, I believe no punishment is too severe for selling your country off for personal gain. Doing it for idiological reasons can be excuse but not for financial gain. Jonathan Pollard who sold U.S. classified stuff to the Israelis in the 80's was jailed for life.
Dear Dato' Arshad,
When I first started my government service in 1969, I had to go through what was termed as 'close vetting' done by the Police. Then we had to attend courses conducted by the Government Security Office of the PM's Department and also by the Special Branch. I do not know whether these preventive measures in place in our Defence Ministry now. It looked like the good practices had been discarded in lieu of more sophisticated technologies but the operators have become perpetrators.
My Dear Comrades,
A secret is no more a SECRET when more than One Person knows about it!
With the right amount it can be bought!
Ask the 3 frogs of Ipoh, Perak!
"Everyone has a number and price !"
I have said this before and I will still say it again !
They start with 2.5K, later 25K, they move on to 250K, much improved he demands for 2.5 Mil and he finishes with 25 Mil. Mind you that is not the end yet some have reached 500 Mil!
Is there any secret left?
DMI keeps mum, what is happening?
Who runs the Army and ATM today ?
Is it The Def Minister and PM!
Who fights the enemy when war breaks out?
Does President Obama put on his Combat Gear and fight?
The Police and SB are also in the blind!
Maybe it was just a rumor!
"How to tell the whole wide world we have a spy and yet we do not know his name?"
OH BLIND ME, A THOUSAND APOLOGIES, Sab!
Dear Folks,
My secret MIND says,the secret here could be the following:
1. Secret Bank Account Numbers of Corrupted Generals and Civilians in Mindef.
2. Secret Photos of Generals with girl friends in love scenes !
3. Secret locations of their well hidden ill gotten gains,stolen treasures & cash.
4. Secret Phone numbers of their runners & cronies!
5. Secret homes, properties and bungalows overseas!
6. Secret names, phone numbers and addresses of the party girls for themselves!
7. Secret locations of the secret Karaoke joints!
8. Secret names and numbers of the MUMMY's who supplies fresh flesh!
9. Secret names of those who will be promoted very soon!
10. Lastly, the secret of all secrets...who is the next PTD?
ha ha ha
don't worry be happy
all secrets sold already!
Fellow Comrades,
You want to know why the Neighboring diplomats wanted this secret?
So that they can catch and clutch the BALLS of these rotten to the core despicable scums of the earth and BLACKMAIL them when the TIME is Right!
They have sold their souls to the devil, they play with fire and they think they can win, too bad they will all burn in HELL!
"The Rule by Fear Factor!"
The private soldiers fear the L/Cpl.
The L/Cpl Fears the Cpl.
The Cpl Fears the Sgt.
The Sgt Fears The S/Sgt.
The S/Sgt Fears the WO II.
The WO II Fears the WO I.
The WO I Fears the RSM!
So it is the same with the officers...form 2Lt to a 4 Star General.
The 4 General Fears the Min Of Def!
Min of Def Fears the PM.
The PM......... he he he FEARS.......................
......F......A.....T......M.....A....M......A !
WALAH!
SO who fears GOD the ALMIGHTY ?
They forgot about HIM !
That is why our country is down the drain, into the sewer, and now floating out to the SOUTH CHINE SEAS !
Dato,
,,,Not sure how credible it is, but allegedly Barack Obama will provide the blueprints for the B-2 stealth bomber to China in exchange for $50billion in debt relief.
,,,According to the Administration, this proposal will help the United States resolve its debt issues. They point out their belief that the B-2 bomber is "strategically obsolete", according to a source in the White House Press Office. (sounds like familier reasoning) ? eerrmm !
...In addition, the source claims that the Chinese would be unable to create their own functioning stealth bomber fleet for "at least eight years."
,,,American allies Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea are very wary of the proposal. Koo Syi, a geopolitical analyst from South Korea, points out that this technology could be passed to China's allies. This was the case when Chinese nuclear technology was transferred to Pakistan and North Korea. According to Koo, Obama has rendered US allies' opinions as "irrelevant."
,,,While this proposal is controversial, it is not being presented to Congress, where it could meet with stern opposition. Instead, the State Department has been informed to assisted the Defense Department with the transfer of materials.
,,,A little skeptical here as frankly $50 billion is less than a drop in the bucket of Chinese Treasury holdings which are easily well over $1 trillion. The economic impact of this transaction would be negligible to zero.
,,,On the other hand, if this ends up being true, it is quite frightening, as it merely demonstrates, aside from all the scary geo-political considerations, just how bad of a dealmaker President Obama is !. With the President of the United States selling off their military secrets away for money ?.
,,,now, what would our PM do then ??....scary thoughts indeed and not just buying 2 x submarines only ?!.
To all the male species...
The old saying goes:"behind every successful man is always a women"
The saying also says behind a failed human is a women!
Look at the following living examples, the saga of:
President Clinton & Monica Lewinsky.
Tiger Woods and all the pretty girls.
John Terry and Friends Girl Friend.
The real Mike Tyson, the Boxer
So we also have our very own:
Mike d Tyson
Tamby d Cheek
Hassan d Omar
Jibby & ...!
So be careful guys, be very careful, the good head must think
do not let the extra head do the thinking!
Capt,
China is playing the upper hand!
They have the Yankees by the BALLS right now.
With all the bonds in their hands, by the trillions!
USA is dead meat if the bonds are cashed in!
USA is bankrupted to the very CORE!
Taiwan was promised arms deal by the Yankees and China is not happy!
Very interesting times ahead, it is a high stake poker game!
Sanctions will follow on US companies in China!
They refuse to de-valuate the Chinese currency, US is crying!
WHAT NEXT....
DS SOLUTION....
GO TO WAR.....!
Capt,
Must always remember that
War is the end result of a failed political settlement!
It has been that way and will remain as such!
Who starts a WAR?
Not soldiers and Generals !
Egoistic leaders who call themselves Presidents and Prime Ministers!
komando,
,,,Wars between nations are usually caused by territorial disputes, ideological rivalry, a lust for conquest or, unfortunately/occasionally, by diplomatic incompetence !.
,,,indeed, diplomatic incompetence remains one of the greatest dangers to the peace of the world.
,,,the Falklands war was a result of diplomatic misjudgement in London and Buenos Aires, and the Six Day War of 1967 was the result of Nasser's folly !.
,,,in fact, the world has never been at peace since the victory celebrations of 1945. They have never ceased !. Presently more than 40 countries in the world are in the unshaking grip of war, rebellion, foreign infiltration, terrorism or endemic banditry.
,,,there have been at least 80 wars since 1945, resulting in the deaths of between 15 and 30 million people. Many many millions have been driven from their homes too.
,,,what most people don't realised is that most of the conflicts in the world today are between peoples and races. Only a few are between nations, and even fewer are ideological.
,,,if anything, the world has become more violent with each succeeding decade since the murderous '40.
,,,there are a few instances of a conscious rejection of past hatreds. In the 1950s, France and West Germany decided, consciously and deliberately, to end a quarrel reaching back centuries, one that had caused three wars within 70 years. This achievement is particularly admirable because the engine that powers most of the wars in today's world is ethnic hostility. Of that, apparently, there is no bloody end.
,,,mind you, hatred can be manifested in many different ways and many different places. Hatred can be inspired by ideology, like that of the Khmers Rouges or the Shining Path in Peru,by ancestral ethnic or religious animosities, like the Hindus and Muslims who slaughtered each other in India in 1947, or the Protestants and Catholics in Belfast, by racism,like the Americans in the South who, in the 1960s, beat up and sometimes murdered black 'freedom riders', by tribal rivalry, like the Tutsi and Hutu of Burundi and Rwanda.
,,,indeed, its all an extreme test for rationality and diplomacy that we MALAYSIAN must be made aware of-lah. Lets again not relearnt the hard way in keeping the peace and harmony within our country plus at all times also be prepared for war ?. too !.
i rest my case.
Salam Dato'
Still remember MATAHARI? The beautiful spy of the 20th century?
ramli,
,,,ah ha ! our matahari was C4ed ?.
have you read malay mail report on our new submarine.
http://mmail.com.my/content/27231-defect-brand-new-sub
Dear Pak Chad,
Why the sudden revealation by Minister Zahid regarding state secrets amidst the furor created by the 'cerita' exposed by RPK on the inner workings of Mindef. ZH, don't be naive, not all those working in Mindef, Treasury as well as the EPU support BN. So what do you expect? You think everyone will keep quiet upon seeing billions of taxpayers money being squandered away through shady deals such as the ACMI, the tank deal and the Vera-E to name a few?
Jangan harap le!! Ni pulak ada ura-ura gormen nak ambil alih dua buah kapal 'corvette' super mahal tempahan Brunei yang mereka 'reject' dpd BAE. Teman tahulah PRU akan menjelang tak lama lagi, kenalah buat persediaan dpd sekarang... Takkanlah Mentah pikior kami ni semua bodoh dan tidak boleh guna kepala-otak. The RMN needs to replace its logistic ship immediately not add more corvettes to its existing fleet. Yang tempah dengan Boustead Shipyardpun belum habis terima. Dema nak perang dengan siapa pulak nak tambah fighting ships? Sudah tentu ada agenda lain. Come on ZH remember this famous American political adage, 'you can lie to the people most of the time but you can't lie to them all the time'. Janganlah nak gempak orang dengan dongeng state secrets tu. Orang dah hilang kepercayaan dah!
Pak Chad, I view the revealation by ZH as nothing more than a ploy to divert public attention....
Datuk Zahid Hamidi disprove me and take the offender to task. Use the ISA if neccessary...For such henious crimes, you have the liberty to not only lock him/her up but to also throw away the keys.
ISH ISH ISH
ISA - makan free, tidor free and relax free, all free except you are not FREE!
Be careful folks, they are getting desperate, the more they panic the more shit will hit the FANs!
So More UMNO secrets will be opened and left bare for all to see and taste, not this nations secret lah!
Capt's Longhouse,
Matahari was C4ed, yang tinggal sekarang MataDuitan!
YB Dato Zahid (Menteri Pertahanan)
Baru dengar di radio BFM pagi ini (12 Feb 10) seorang pegawai Risek negara Sepanyol dihukum penjara 15 tahun kerana menjual rahsia negara kepada Duta Besar Russia di Sepanyol.
Bagaimana pula dengan anggota Tentera yang membucurkan rahsia ATM kepada negara jiran itu?Mengapa tindakan mahkamah tidak diambil terhadap anggota ynag terlibat Dato?
Maurice,
Macam mana nak ambil tindakan mahkamah keatas si penjual Rahsia Negara tu???
Kalau dia pa (Pemimpin Atasan) ambil tindakan kemungkinan si penjual Rahsia tu akan membongkarkan salah laku (Rasuah) Bosnya. The best thing to do is just Keep Quite. Sweep it under the carpet.
Hopefully one day there will be someone who dare to do what you have said or recommended.
Just Ponder it.....
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