KOTA KINABALU – Former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman has taken the current leadership at Wisma Putra to task over the controversial recalling of two Malaysian diplomats who were stationed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Stressing that the ministry could have handled the matter better, he said current Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah should have taken full responsibility in the matter.
“This type of action reflects badly on the foreign minister, and consequently, also reflects badly on Malaysia.”
“I personally would have handled the situation differently and would have urged the internal investigation to be done first,” said Anifah, who led the ministry from 2009 to 2018, in a statement today.
He said that even though Wisma Putra has stated that such a recall is nothing out of the ordinary, the two officials should not have been recalled “in haste” over the alleged failure to coordinate administrative and logistical matters during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent visit to the UAE.
The foreign ministry yesterday denied that the repatriation of ambassador Tarid Sufian and the consul-general in Dubai, Hasril Abdul Hamid, was due to the failure to provide “guest status” for Ismail Sabri during his visit to Dubai late last month.
In a statement today, Anifah said that while incidents like this rarely happen, it could have been avoided 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.
Anifah also expressed doubts that such senior and experienced diplomats would overlook important details, especially when it involves the prime minister.
“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.”
He stressed that during his own tenure, the foreign minister would arrive on site ahead of the prime minister to ensure that the necessary preparations are made.
“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.
Anifah, who is also Parti Cinta Sabah president, said that such hasty action in recalling the diplomats would reflect badly on the nation as it would be deemed as incapable of organising something as routine 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,” he stressed.
It has always been normal practice for an internal meeting to be held at the ministry in Malaysia for every event, especially when it involves the prime minister. – The Vibes, April 12, 2022
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