FORMER minister Nazri Aziz’s appointment as Malaysian ambassador to the United States shows poor judgment on the part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, two former diplomats said.

Noor Farida Ariffin and Dennis Ignatius said Nazri’s appointment was disappointing.

“It is not fair to career diplomats when they are denied the opportunity for a promotion to ambassador,” Noor Farida, Malaysia’s former envoy to the Netherlands, was quoted as saying in FMT.

“It is poor judgment on the part of the prime minister to nominate Nazri,” she added.

Ignatius, a former Malaysian high commissioner to Canada, also unhappy with the appointment of the former Umno leader.

“Day by day, the prime minister disappoints,” he was quoted as saying.

Previously, Pakatan Harapan (PH) had objected to the naming of politicians as envoys, including Nazri’s name was linked to the top diplomatic post in France, Switzerland or the US.

The Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that the king presented Nazri and nine other new heads of missions with their diplomatic credentials.

Wisma Putra said Nazri, the former Padang Rengas MP and a graduate of Lincoln’s Inn in the UK, has extensive experience in government.

He has held a number of cabinet portfolios including tourism and culture, and industrial development.

He was also a deputy finance minister and the minister in charge of legal affairs in the Prime Minister’s Department.

It was reported last year that Nazri had backed PKR president Anwar to become prime minister in 2020, saying it was the right thing to do.

At the time, Nazri had defended his and the decision of a number of Umno MPs, to sign declarations of support for Anwar.

Nazri said he had done that out of “love” for Umno and to protect the party from being dissolved.

Meanwhile, former foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Nazri’s appointment was not unusual, according to the same FMT report.

He said that in the past, politicians, including Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman and Zulhasnan Rafique, served as Malaysian ambassadors to the US.

Last year, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration faced pressure from PH MPs over plans to appoint another politician, former Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, as ambassador to Indonesia.

His appointment was subsequently revoked. – February 10, 2023.