Theme: Malaysia

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) delivered the first two FA-50 light combat aircraft to Malaysia under a 2023 contract to supply 18 jets to the Southeast Asian country. The two FA-50M aircraft departed KAI's headquarters in Sacheon on Thursday and arrived at Malaysia's Kuantan Air Base on Sunday.

Malaysia’s customs department seized 30 servers fitted with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips in a suspected export-control violation: the shipment, worth about 50 million ringgit (US$ 12.2 million), was intercepted in the free trade zone of the country’s main airport on Oct. 15 after being falsely declared as electrical components for re-export to another Asian country without the required permit. Malaysia introduced permit requirements for the export, transit and transshipment of AI chips of US origin under pressure from the US to keep sensitive technology from being rerouted to China through third countries.

Customs authorities found 30 server units containing advanced AI chips during an October 15 inspection in Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s free-trade zone, according to the South China Morning Post. The servers — falsely declared as electronic components and shipped through Malaysia so there would be no restrictions on export to the next destination, according to customs cited by the paper — were linked to a syndicate already involved this year in five cases with a total value exceeding US$ 24 million, officials cited by TRT World said.

Malaysia barred civil servants from using the Waze navigation app after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the app’s Israeli origins raised security concerns, with the government weighing risks to user data and saying Waze would be subject to Israeli laws, and a letter from the chief secretary dated October 20 orders informing subordinates and enforcing compliance, according to Reuters.

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing will visit Malaysia in the next few days, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday, October 6, according to CNA. Talks are expected to focus on Malaysia’s plan, announced in July, to return about 5,000 Myanmar nationals. The first group of nearly 1,500 returnees arrived in Myanmar on Sunday, although Malaysia has not said how many Rohingya were among them.

Malaysia began on Tuesday deporting about 1,500 Myanmar nationals under a repatriation program, the first phase of a plan that could reach 5,000 people, according to Reuters. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said current conditions do not support a safe and sustainable return and that it was not involved in identifying those returned, while Malaysiaʼs Interior Ministry said the measure covers 1,476 nationals identified by the government of Myanmar.