KUALA LUMPUR – The move by the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) to recall the Malaysian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Malaysian consul-general in Dubai for failing to coordinate matters during the prime minister’s visit late last month needs to be resolved prudently and internally, said former foreign minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.
He stressed that politicising the issue would not only affect the image of the ministry and the government, but also Malaysia’s reputation at the international level.
“The practice of recalling diplomats due to a huge flaw during an official visit is normal; other countries also recall their ambassadors within 24 hours, so it is not unique to Malaysia.
“But in this case – I know I cannot speak on behalf of the foreign minister or the Prime Minister’s Office – for me, it should have been handled better,” he said.
Wisma Putra informed in a statement on Monday that the failure in coordinating protocol matters resulted in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s long wait at the arrival hall for passport clearance by Dubai immigration during his visit to the UAE on March 29-31.
Apart from that, Wisma Putra said security measures as well as motorcade movements that should have been provided for the prime minister as per the standard operating procedures were also non-existent.
Based on his experience, Syed Hamid said, Wisma Putra has had longstanding basic protocol in handling visits by a head of government, but he was of the view that communication issues that led to the failure.
He added that based on common practice, there are differences between official visits, working visits, or personal visits as each type of visit would have a different response from the host.
“Even for personal visits, it is usual that our ambassadors in the host country, due to their calibre, will coordinate basic protocols for the prime minister such as security and so on; it’s something very basic and the incident should not have happened.
“In episodes like this, the minister must be responsible by dealing with it and managing it wisely. It is a question of responsibility and accountability. Improvements need to be made.
“It used to be common practice that during visits by the prime minister, the (foreign) minister would go first. I would arrive a day or two earlier and ensure all the preparations proceed smoothly. I don't know what it’s like now.”
On Malaysia-UAE bilateral relations, Syed Hamid said the issue will likely have a negative impact on relations between the two countries, but as the actual relationship between Malaysia and the UAE is friendly and deep, the issue as a whole will not affect the two countries’ long-term ties. – Bernama, April 14, 2022
