Former MP, navy chief among Malaysians who had stakes in North Korean firm: Report

KUALA LUMPUR — A former federal lawmaker and ex-navy chief both had stakes in a North Korean firm that had allegedly violated international sanctions while operating in Malaysia, according to a report.

Quoting unnamed sources, Wall Street Journal reported that former Malaysian navy chief Ramly Abu Bakar and former Subang MP and MIC leader KS Nijhar both had stakes in Malaysia Korea Partners (MKP), a Malaysian-based company run by a North Korean businessman.

The report said that MKP had tried to award ownership stakes to politically-connected Malaysians to obtain local support and even obtain local contracts.

Mr Nijhar is the director of a MKP subsidiary while Mr Ramly was a shareholder at the same subsidiary.

The report also said that Malaysia is probing local firms that are believed to have circumvented economic sanctions placed upon North Korea by the United Nations.

It said that the Malaysian police are investigating claims that North Korea is violating the international sanctions by using Malaysian businesses.

One of the highlighted business is Malaysia Korea Partners, a company that has built homes in Africa using North Korean workers.

“North Korean labourers — employed by MKP in Africa, according to the head of a joint venture with MKP and others familiar with the company — typically must give most of their earnings to the regime as a condition of going abroad, according to human-rights groups,” the report said.

It has reportedly earned tens of millions of dollars through projects in Angola and Zambia over the past decade, and has strong ties to the North Korean government.

The North Korean director of the company has been listed as Mr Edward Han, who also has a Malaysian business partner, Mr Yong Kok Yeap.

The UN is also examining MKP’s operations, having previously raised concerns about its operations in 2014 and again earlier this year. According to the report, UN has pressed Malaysia to look further into the company.

The report said that there have been concerns that North Korea has been using Malaysia as a hub to earn foreign exchange despite the UN sanctions, which were designed to cut off North Korea from global financial flows.

Last month, Reuters reported that a North Korean spy agency has been running a front company in Kuala Lumpur selling battlefield radio equipments in violation of UN sanctions.

The secretary general of the Umno veterans association, Mr Mustapha Yaakub, was also part of the company, called Global System and International Golden Services, and known as Glocom.

Mr Mustapha said he had been part of the company, which was set up with three North Koreans, for three years before realising its operations were in violation of UN sanctions. MALAY MAIL ONLINE