ED Malaysia balking

Malaysia appears getting cold feet and trying to wrap up promptly the murder case of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged older half-brother of North Korea’s psychopathic leader Kim Jong-un.

Less than three weeks after Kim’s assassination at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the Malaysian government has decided to deport the only North Korean suspect to Pyongyang, while settling for two female hired guns _ one Vietnamese and one Indonesian _ to take the fall.

Malaysia has promised to take few punitive measures, one being to terminate the visa waiver program that helps thousands of North Koreans work there. But there are no reports that Malaysia is considering any other, stronger, steps such as terminating diplomatic ties.

This has triggered speculation that the case will go cold.

But if Malaysia allows the killing to remain unsolved, it will do so at the risk of three things.

First, the country is a key tourist destination and Kim’s murder at the busy airport has made visitors feel unsafe. Then, whether through incompetency or negligence, leaving the high-profile murder unresolved will increase people’s fears and is bound to make them have second thoughts about visiting Malaysia.

Second, Kim’s murder is an act of terrorism with North Korea as the only prime suspect.

As a member of the international community, Malaysia has every reason to determine who is responsible and bring that entity to account to deter potential copycats.

Finally, South Korea’s good name should be restored. The North made the preposterous claim that Seoul was behind the death of the dictator’s brother (Pyongyang still argues that it was not Kim Jong-nam, but one of its nationals) to escape the internal political turmoil involving President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment case over her alleged corruption and illegal power sharing.

We can dismiss the North’s claim as typical schizophrenic haranguing with no foundation, but it is also Malaysia’s responsibility to force it to stop this nonsensical behavior once and for all, which would also benefit the rest of the world.

For these reasons, if Malaysia chooses to leaves the probe unfinished or obfuscates for fear of offending the North, it will do so at its own peril.