KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — Putrajaya must summon Singapore High Commissioner Ong Keng Yong to confirm allegations that the island republic is aiding the United States in spying on Malaysia, PKR said today.

Its communication director Fahmi Fadzil said the federal government must also get its southern neighbour to clarify if the communications of Malaysian leaders, whether from the Najib administration or the federal opposition, are being tapped, following recent news reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone has been bugged by the US since 2002.

“Putrajaya must also send a protest note to the Singapore High Commission on such spying activities, which were reported to have been done with the cooperation of Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel),” Fahmi said.

“Keadilan takes the spying issue seriously, especially as it involves a neighbouring country with whom a few mega projects, like the high speed rail, are being discussed. If this issue is not dealt with quickly and sternly, it may affect bilateral relations,” he added in his statement.

Top secret documents leaked by US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden showed that Singapore is a key partner of the “5-Eyes” intelligence group, which was revealed to have tapped telephones and monitored communications networks in Kuala Lumpur.

In a report by Australian media group Fairfax Media today quoting Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, it was revealed that Singapore is a key “third party” providing the ring - comprising the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - access to Malaysia’s communications channel.

In August, Fairfax had reported that the Singaporean intelligence is a partner of Australia’s electronic espionage agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, to tap the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable that runs from Japan, via Singapore, Djibouti, Suez and the Straits of Gibraltar to Northern Germany.

This access was allegedly facilitated by Singaporean telecommunication operator Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), which is owned by Singapore government’s investment arm Temasek Holdings.

According to Fairfax, Malaysia and Indonesia have been key targets for both Australian and Singaporean intelligence even since the 1970s, since most of Indonesia's telecommunications and Internet traffic goes through the island city-state.