KUALA LUMPUR – Retired senior diplomats have trained their guns on Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, who they say is fully responsible for the reported failure of the Malaysian mission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to manage Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s visit.
On Monday, Wisma Putra said Malaysia’s ambassador to the UAE, Tarid Sufian and the consul-general in Dubai, Hasril Abdul Hamid, were repatriated for failing to coordinate administrative and logistical elements of the prime minister’s visit in March.
Datuk Dennis Ignatius, a 36-year veteran of Malaysia’s foreign service, said the situation was a case of “bad handling” on Saifuddin’s part.
He must take responsibility for this because there is a process involved (in such visits) and he is (directly) involved through meetings. The foreign minister briefs the prime minister on who they will meet and the topics of discussion,” Dennis told The Vibes.
Dennis, who served as ambassador to Chile and Argentina, said the foreign minister should have been aware of the prime minister’s decision to proceed with the visit, even if in an unofficial capacity, and made the necessary preparations.
He said he did not believe the two senior diplomats were incompetent or negligent, as they would have been trained to handle high-level visits by Malaysian leaders, especially if it is the prime minister.
“It’s not something that you neglect or overlook. Things such as motorcades and security are standard (operating procedures), which we can do in our sleep,” Dennis said, adding that the incident points to an “entire systemic failure” involving the Prime Minister’s Office, Wisma Putra, and UAE authorities.
Another retired senior diplomat said the onus now falls on Saifuddin to explain the situation, as the incident has made Wisma Putra the laughingstock of the foreign service.
This is a serious matter, and it should not be left unaddressed,” said the retired diplomat, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“It will affect the morale of the Foreign Ministry officers, even at the junior level because they will one day become ambassadors.”
On Tuesday, former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Saifuddin should have taken full responsibility over the matter instead of recalling the two senior diplomats, which he said, “reflects badly on the Foreign Minister, and consequently, also reflects badly on Malaysia”. – The Vibes, April 15, 2022
