PETALING JAYA – A Malaysian arrested in Norway for alleged espionage was recruited by a foreigner while studying in Australia.

A Kuala Lumpur-based diplomatic source said he was approached by a foreign intelligence agent operating Down Under.

“He was befriended by a ‘consultant’ from a foreign country who operated in Australia. The person gave financial assistance to the Malaysian.

“The consultant was on the radar of Australian intelligence. They informed their Norwegian counterparts that the consultant and the Malaysian were travelling together to Norway,” said the embassy source.

The source said the 25-year-old student from Kuala Lumpur came from a low-income family and was pursuing a Diploma in Business Studies at a college in Melbourne.

“The student informed his parents that he was getting financial assistance from the consultant, and they were not suspicious at all that a foreigner had recruited their son,” he added.

The Star visited the Malaysian student’s wooden house in a low-cost housing area known as rumah panjang (longhouse) in Kuala Lumpur.

A neighbour said the parents were at work and confirmed that their son studied in Australia.

However, the neighbour said she did not know the student was arrested in Norway.

On Sept 12, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its embassy in Stockholm, confirmed that a man believed to be a Malaysian citizen had been arrested in Oslo, and was believed to have been involved in espionage activities.

In a statement, the ministry said its embassy was in close contact with the local authorities in Oslo to get more information on this case.

The source said Norway did not reveal to the Malaysian government which country the intelligence agent was from.

“However, they wanted to send the message to Malaysia that Malaysians of certain ethnicities were the target of recruitment by an intelligent agency,” he said.

The source said the identity of the intelligence agent was not revealed as investigations were still ongoing.