Saturday, February 14, 2004
Malaysia pledges cooperation on nuclear investigation
Associated Press Kuala Lumpur, February 13
Malaysia pledged on Thursday to share with Washington information from its investigation of a man that US President George W Bush has described as a major player in a vast network trafficking nuclear technology.
But top officials accused Bush of unfairly singling out this Southeast Asian nation's role in the secret network, insisting that the sole known case of Malaysian involvement was the unwitting manufacture of parts seized en route to Libya last year.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, alluding to police comments that investigators had so far found no evidence of wrongdoing by the company that made the parts, declared: "There is no such thing as Malaysia's involvement. We are not involved in any way. I don't know where Bush is getting his evidence from."
A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not deny a Malaysian connection, but said Bush had "overblown Malaysia's role in this. Making Malaysia the central conduit to this is misleading."
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.