NAZRI Aziz said he had declined the post as ambassador to Switzerland in 2019 as he would have had to resign as a lawmaker, which was the requirement in Europe.

The Padang Rengas MP’s comments came after blogger Hussein Hamid claimed that Geneva had refused his appointment as he may be linked with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

“In Europe, a sitting MP cannot be an ambassador. I don’t want to resign as an MP, my term ends in a year-and-a-half. I will have to wait until I finish my term,” he told Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

He also rubbished the blogger’s claim, calling it “stupid”.

“I don’t care what people say. The most important people are my voters.

“These bloggers are stupid. They think they know everything when they do not. It is okay if you do not like me and make comments. Better yet, face me in the polls.

“But that being said, I’m not standing (in future elections) again.”

After 26 years in politics, Nazri announced last August that he is retiring from politics.

In a blog post, Hussein said that Nazri was closely linked to the Swiss authorities’ investigations into 1MDB.

“The Swiss government is undertaking a criminal investigation into 1MDB and they feel that Nazri was complicit in the debacle as he was then a senior minister in Najib Razak’s cabinet,” he said.

The blogger added that Wisma Putra was also not in favour of politicians and non-career diplomats being appointed for the post. – January 10, 2022.