Ex-diplomats plan protest letter over PM’s UAE debacle

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PETALING JAYA: A group of former ambassadors is planning to write a letter of protest to Wisma Putra following a fiasco involving the prime minister’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) late last month.

Noor Farida Mohd Ariffin, who once served as an ambassador to the Netherlands, told FMT that many of her former colleagues were “outraged” at the manner in which the matter was handled.

They were particularly dismayed with the recall of the ambassador, Tarid Sufian, and consul-general Hasril Abdul Hamid from their posts.

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Buck stops with foreign minister, says Anwar of PM’s shambolic visit to UAE

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah should bear the responsibility for the mismanagement that plagued Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Anwar said that neither Malaysia’s ambassadors nor lower-level officials should be held accountable for the incident.

“In my experience as a minister for many years in previous governments, we have never heard of a prime minister’s official visit not being feted by the country that had supposedly invited him,” he said in a short video posted on his Facebook page.

Anwar said the foreign minister should be the one to answer for the country’s diplomatic corps being in such apparent disarray.

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UAE debacle: Will more heads roll?

PETALING JAYA: Foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah is coming under increasing pressure over the poor handling of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.

The Malaysian ambassador to the UAE, Tarid Sufian, and the consul-general in Dubai, Hasril Abdul Hamid, have been recalled, but many observers believe the two senior diplomats have been unfairly treated.

The saga has been one filled with drama involving, among others, a leaked audio clip, a police report and a three-page statement from Wisma Putra – yet it seems far from over.

Watch the video here.

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