Malaysia's Foreign Ministry Want German Ambassador To Clarify Funding To Suaram

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Bernama) -- Wisma Putra (Malaysia's Foreign Ministry) will ask the German Ambassador to Malaysia to explain the channeling of funds to Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd, a company linked to Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Malaysia's Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said Malaysia took exception to the action of the embassy in channeling fund to an NGO known to have a certain political agenda. "The action of the German embassy can be misconstrued as interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state," he said in a statement here Thursday. Anifah said Malaysia was also disappointed with the involvement of the German embassy in activities which showed its partiality on certain issues which have implications on the domestic situation in Malaysia, considering Malaysia and Germany are important bilateral partners, and have cordial relations in various fields. "Foreign missions should be sensitive to the sensitivity of the host country and how the good relations could be forged and maintained," he said. On Wednesday, Germany's Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Guenter Georg Gruber admitted to channeling funds to the company to finance specific project initiatives. Meanwhile, initial investigation by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) found transactions of funds between Suara Inisiatif which was registered under the Companies Act 1965 and Suaram. SSM was also criticised by several NGOs on its failure to act against Suaram which among others admitted to receiving funds from foreign countries, following a report that Suaram was not an NGO but a company under Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd. -- BERNAMA