Heritage Foundation's Asian Belle

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As happened with neighboring Indonesia, "the 9/11 attacks opened the door to improved U.S.-Malaysia relations." The Heritage Foundation began promoting Malaysia in mid-2001, "at the same time a Hong Kong consulting firm co-founded by Edwin J. Feulner, Heritage's president, began representing Malaysian business interests." The firm, Belle Haven Consultants, lists Feulner's wife and Heritage consultant Ken Sheffer among its staff. "To help represent Malaysian clients," Belle Haven hired the Republican lobbying firm Alexander Strategy Group. "Experts say that the relationship between one of Washington's most influential conservative think tanks and a network of lobbying firms collecting fees from Malaysian business interests - well in excess of $1 million over two years - could pose a problem for Heritage's status as a nonprofit group," reports the Washington Post.