Key developments since 1999: Malaysia ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on
22 April 1999 and the treaty entered into force on 1 October 1999.
Malaysia’s domestic mine ban legislation, the Anti-Personnel Mines
Convention Implementation Act (Act 603), took effect on 25 June 2000. Malaysia
destroyed its stockpile of 94,721 antipersonnel mines from 15-23 January 2001,
and has chosen not to retain any mines for training purposes. Malaysia has been
very active in promoting universalization and full implementation of the Mine
Ban Treaty, especially in Southeast Asia. It served as co-rapporteur and then
co-chair of the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction from May 1999 to
September 2001. Malaysia hosted a regional seminar on stockpile destruction in
August 2001. In 2004, Malaysia is serving as one of the “Friends of the
President” for the President-designate of the First Review Conference.
The Malaysian Armed Forces have conducted a number of surveys since 2001 and
found no mines in formerly affected areas on the Thai border.
Mine Ban Policy
Malaysia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified on 22 April
1999 and the treaty entered the treaty into force on 1 October 1999. Domestic
legislation, the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention Implementation Act (Act 603),
took effect on 25 June 2000.[1]
In a December 1994 UN General Assembly speech, Malaysia became one of the
first nations in the world to call for an immediate ban on antipersonnel mines.
Malaysia has voted in favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution
since 1996, including UNGA Resolution 58/53 on 8 December 2003.
Malaysia actively participated in the Ottawa Process. Over the past five
years Malaysia has continued to be active in promoting universalization of the
treaty and its effective
implementation.[2] Malaysia has
repeatedly approached non-States Parties in Southeast Asia, in particular Brunei
Darussalam and Indonesia, to urge them to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Malaysia has attended all the annual meetings of States Parties since 1999,
including the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003, and all the
intersessional meetings. It served as co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee
on Stockpile Destruction from May 1999 to September 2000, then as co-chair until
September 2001. Malaysia hosted a regional seminar on stockpile destruction in
August 2001 where it called on non-States Parties to engage in stockpile
destruction before acceding to the Mine Ban Treaty.
In 2004, Malaysia is serving as one of the “Friends of the
President” for Austrian Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, President-designate
of the First Review Conference; this group of States Parties is assisting with
preparation of the substantive documents for the Review Conference. Together
with Germany, Malaysia prepared a discussion paper, entitled “Nature,
Timing and Sequencing of Post-2004 Meetings of the States Parties and Related
Matters,” for the preparatory meeting in June
2004.[3]
Malaysia submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report on 15 March 2004
for calendar year 2003. Malaysia has provided four previous
reports.[4]
Joint Military Operations and Transit
The Anti-Personnel Mines Convention Implementation Act 2000, in its provision
on exceptions, permits Malaysian Armed Forces to participate “in
operations, exercises or other military activities with the armed forces of a
country that is not a party to the Convention that engage in an activity
prohibited under section 3, if that participation does not amount to active
assistance or involvement in that prohibited
activity.”[5] In 2002, a
Ministry of Defense official told Landmine Monitor, “Malaysia Armed Forces
may participate in joint operations with armed forces of non-signatory states,
but will not participate in joint operations that involve the use of
APM.”[6]
Malaysia maintains a firm stance on the prohibition of transit of
antipersonnel mines through Malaysian
territory.[7]
Production, Transfer, Use and Stockpile Destruction
Malaysia has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. It imported all
its antipersonnel mines from the former Yugoslavia. It has not used mines since
the peace accord with the Communist Party of Malaysia in 1989.
Malaysia destroyed its stockpile of 94,721 antipersonnel mines from 15-23
January 2001.[8] This was far
in advance of its October 2003 treaty deadline. Representatives from Malaysian
NGOs and ASEAN landmine campaigns were invited to observe it. The destruction
cost approximately RM 6.9 million (about US$1.89
million).[9]
Malaysia has chosen not to retain any antipersonnel mines for training or
development purposes. The Malaysian Armed Forces uses inert practice
antipersonnel mines.[10]
Malaysia still stockpiles Claymore-type mines. The Defense Ministry and Armed
Forces have stated that the Claymore mines currently in their inventory were
acquired from a South Korean manufacturer in command-detonated mode and need no
further modification to be legal under the
Convention.[11] Malaysia does
not report voluntarily under Article 7 on the Claymores because it does not
consider them antipersonnel
mines.[12]
In 2001, Malaysia started a Defense Cooperation Program which includes a
component to help train developing countries in demining and mine
destruction.[13]
Mine Action
Malaysia is no longer a mine-affected country. Following the political
settlement between the government and the communist insurgency in the northern
border area with Thailand, mine clearance operations were conducted from 1990 to
1991.[14] A special government
commission visited sites on the Malaysian-Thai border in October 2000 to confirm
that no mines remained planted from the
insurgency.[15] The Malaysian
Armed Forces have conducted a number of surveys since 2001 and no active mines
have been found in the formerly affected
areas.[16]
In March 2001, the Malaysian Army Field Engineering Institute established a
Mine Awareness Center to teach Malaysian soldiers and peacekeepers of other
nationalities about the Mine Ban Treaty and Malaysia’s implementation
legislation.[17] In the past,
Malaysian peacekeeping forces undertook mine clearance operations in Cambodia
and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Malaysia has not made any financial
contributions to international mine action programs.
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
The last reported mine casualty inside Malaysia was a soldier on patrol in
1993.[18]During the
peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, an officer died in an
antipersonnel landmine
incident.[19] The government
maintains that during the communist insurgency, there were less than 100
casualties due to booby-traps, and none to landmines; all casualties were
military personnel.[20]
Military personnel, when seriously injured in military operations including
mine clearance, receive free medical care and other assistance, which includes
prosthetic services, financial aid from the Warrior’s Fund, special
pension schemes for disabled veterans, vocational training, and scholarships for
the education of their
children.[21]
[1] The full name of the legislation is
“An Act to implement the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their
Destruction; and for other matters connected therewith.” Under section
20, the penalty for violation shall be a fine not exceeding 20,000 Ringgit
(approximately $5,263), or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both. See
Article 7 Report, Form A, 15 March 2004. The Minister of Defense is the focal
point for implementation of the legislation and is authorized to make
regulations. Before royal assent was given to Act 603, the Malaysian Armed
Forces headquarters issued instructions on implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty
to all services under its
supervision. [2] See previous editions
of Landmine Monitor Report. In one notable example, at the XIII Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) meeting, held on 25-27 February 2003 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
successfully led an effort to include language “deploring”
antipersonnel mine use in the final declaration, and, for the first time, NAM
States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty invited those states that have not yet
done so to join the treaty. [3] The
paper proposed various schemes for the scheduling of intersessional meetings and
the annual Meeting of State Parties after 2004, as well as a proposed Second
Review Conference in 2009. See http://www.reviewconference.org/1st_prep_summary.htm [4] Previous Article 7 reports were
submitted on: 17 June 2003 (for calendar year 2002) [note: the report itself is
dated 28 May 2003, but the UN lists 17 June as date received]; 26 August 2002
(for calendar year 2000); 9 May 2002 (for calendar year 2001) [note: this
updated a report for 2001 initially submitted on 27 February 2002] and 1 March
2000 (for the period 1 October 1999 – 1 March
2000). [5] Act 603, Article 4
(d). [6] Email from Cdr. Muhamad
Ridzwan Abd. Rahman, Principal Assistant Secretary, Policy Division, Ministry of
Defense, 9 May 2002. [7] Meeting with
Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, Kuala Lumpur, 10
February 2003. [8] The stockpile
included 44,993 PMA-3, 37,738 PMA-2 and 11,990 PROM-1 antipersonnel mines from
the former Yugoslavia. Article 7 Report, Form B, 15 March
2004. [9] Lt. Col. Baharudin Bin
Jamin, Chief Ammunition Technical Officer, 40 Headquarters Ammunition
Organization, “Brief for Army Field Commander on the Disposal of
Anti-Personnel Landmines (APL) at Asahan Range on 23 January 2001,” Asahan
Range, 23 January 2001. [10] Article 7
Report, Form D, 15 March 2004. [11]
Hanwha Corporation of South Korea did not provide tripwires. Letter from Col.
Razali bin Hj Ahmad, Principal Assistant Secretary, Policy Division, Ministry of
Defense, 24 March 2003. Malaysia has also reported importing Claymore mines
from the US and UK in the past. Landmine Monitor Report 1999, interview with
Cdr. Razali and Major Mustaffa, 8 February 1999, p. 415. Also, Malaysia Article
7 report, 1 March 2000. [12] Meeting
with Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, 10 February
2003. [13] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 340. [14] The clearance
operations involved the Malaysian and Thai governments as well as the Communist
Party of Malaya. Approximately 15,000 antipersonnel mines were destroyed in the
border states of Kedah, Perak and Kelantan. See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
329. [15] Thai Campaign to Ban
Landmines Press Release, “Malaysia Mine Free,” 24 January 2001. See
also Statement by Amb. Hamidon Ali to the Second Meeting of States Parties to
the Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 11-15 September
2000. [16] Article 7 Report, Form I,
15 March 2004. [17] Letter from Col.
Razali bin Hj Ahmad, Ministry of Defense, 24 March
2003. [18] A soldier on patrol in the
state of Kedah was injured by a mine that the joint clearing operations had
failed to retrieve. Interview with Major Abdullah Mustafa, Ministry of Defense,
9 February 1999. [19] Email from Cdr.
Muhamad Ridzwan Abd. Rahman, Ministry of Defense, 9 May
2002. [20] Ibid and 16 July
2002. [21] Email from Cdr. Muhamad
Ridzwan Abd. Rahman, Ministry of Defense, 9 May 2002.