·
PS/Lord Privy Seal
c.c.
CONFIDENTIAL
Private Secretary
PS/Mr Blaker
PS/PUS
Sir A Duff
Sir A Parsons
Mr Leahy
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Mr Murray
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VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: MALAYSIAN ATTITUDE
PROBLEM
1.
How should we react to the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister's threat to ship to sea the more than 70,000 refugees in Malaysia?, (It has been reported that boats containing some 2,500 refugees have already been towed out to sea.)
RECOMMENDATION
2.
I recommend that:
a.
the Prime Minister should send a message to Datuk Hussein Onn, the Malaysian Prime Minister (draft message and draft letter to No 10 attached).
b. The Prime Minister should also send a further message to the UN Secretary General (draft message attached).
c.
I should speak to the Malaysian Acting High Commissioner as soon as possible on the lines used by Mr Blaker with the Thai Ambassador on 13 June (FCO telegram No 151 to Bangkok).
d. We should follow up the messages at a. and b. by urging old Commonwealth Governments, the Americans, the Nine and other appropriate Governments to support our actions.
ARGUMENT
3.
+
Mahathir's statements may be partly bluff, but Malay opinion has been incensed by the arrival of so many refugees of Vietnamese and Chinese racial origin and there is a real danger that unless restrained the Malaysian forces will commit increasingly inhumane acts against refugees. Malaysian statements coming on top of
CONFIDENTIAL
/the
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