THE Malaysian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and another senior diplomat should not be blamed for their handling of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s visit to the United Arab Emirates last month, Anwar Ibrahim said.

The opposition leader stressed that the responsibility should instead fall on Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, and that he should be answerable for the handling of Ismail’s visit.

“I have been a minister for a number of years with the previous government and never before a prime minister was treated this way by a country and this shows confusion.

“But the blame should not be placed on the ambassador or officials, it should be the minister’s responsibility. It is humiliating that a prime minister was not given a proper welcome upon arrival in a foreign country.

“The minister must come up with a statement explaining his failure and should be held accountable,” said Anwar in a statement today.

Last week, the Foreign Ministry recalled ambassador Mohd Tarid Sufian and Consul-General in Dubai Mohd Hasril Abdul Hamid, placing both in “cold storage” for not holding a proper welcome party to receive Ismail.

It was reported that Tarid and Hasril were the only senior officers present at the airport to receive the prime minister when he landed in Dubai, and that there were no top UAE officials present.

This is unlike the usual protocol, where a senior minister of the host country is officially assigned to receive foreign dignitaries. – April 15, 2022.