KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — The Foreign Ministry should not have recalled two of Malaysia’s senior diplomats from the United Arab Emirates in a rush, but should have defended them over shortcomings in coordinating logistics and administrative issues for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent visit there, a former minister said today.
Former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said his current successor Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah could have handled the situation involving the two diplomats much better and should have instead taken full responsibility as a minister.
“I personally would have handled the situation differently and would have urged the internal investigation to be done first.
“Even though Wisma Putra has issued a statement in that such a recall was nothing out of the ordinary due to their failure to coordinate administrative and logistic matters during the Prime Minister’s visit to the UAE, they should not have been recalled in haste,” Anifah said in a statement today.
He also expressed doubt that such senior and experienced diplomats would overlook important details involving the prime minister’s visit.
Anifah explained the usual process undertaken before the prime minister’s official visit to a foreign country, where thorough preparations involving the foreign minister would have to be made.
Referring to his own tenure as foreign minister previously, Anifah said that the foreign minister would be at the foreign country — ahead of the prime minister’s official visit — to ensure that the necessary preparations are made.
Anifah said it has always been the normal practice for a pre-council meeting or internal meeting to be held in Malaysia at the Foreign Ministry for every event, especially one involving the prime minister, followed by a briefing with the Prime Minister’s Office on logistics arrangements.
This would then be followed by the foreign minister and a team arriving earlier at the foreign country and having a final pre-council meeting there, before the prime minister arrives at that country, and this process would ensure that mistakes such as at the recent UAE visit does not happen, Anifah said.
“As the foreign minister, I would have taken full responsibility for the shortcomings which happened during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s visit to the UAE.
“This is a major embarrassment for our country, and a minister is always responsible for any shortcomings of the ministry, and he must defend his officers. I have my doubts that such senior and experienced diplomats would overlook important details especially when it involves our prime minister” he added.
Anifah said the hasty recall of Malaysia’s two diplomats would reflect badly on the nation, as it would be deemed as incapable of organising “something as common as a visit of a head of government”.
“The officers in Wisma Putra are all experienced and those selected to be heads of missions are usually top diplomats and have years of experience under their belts.
“Incidents like this rarely happen and even if it did happen, it could have been prevented had the foreign minister been in the UAE beforehand to personally oversee the preparations for the prime minister’s visit. Being there beforehand is part of the job of a foreign minister and if he failed to be there, he should not have agreed to or ordered the recall of the two diplomats,” he said.
“This type of action reflects badly on the foreign minister, and consequently, also reflects badly on Malaysia,” he added.
Anifah, who is also the president of Parti Cinta Sabah, was weighing in on the Foreign Ministry’s recent recall of Malaysia’s Ambassador to the UAE and the Consul-General of Malaysia in Dubai due to shortcomings over arrangements for the prime minister’s March 29 to March 31 visit to UAE.
Yesterday, national news agency Bernama reported Wisma Putra as saying the failure in coordination had resulted in the prime minister to have a long wait for passport and immigration clearance at the arrival hall in Dubai, and that there was no security coverage and motorcade for the prime minister as per usual standard operating procedures.
Wisma Putra also said the two diplomats did not inform the Foreign Ministry about the World Government Summit during the Dubai Expo and that efforts would otherwise have been made to enable the prime minister to deliver a speech there.
According to Bernama, the prime minister’s visit in conjunction with the Expo 2020 Dubai saw him attending the Malaysia Pavilion’s closing ceremony and appreciation ceremony for the Malaysia Pavilion’s staff, as well as witnessing the signing of several memoranda of understanding between Malaysian and international firms.
The prime minister had also reportedly met with UAE prime minister and vice president Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai.
