NAZRI Abdul Aziz has the right personality to be the Malaysian ambassador to the United States as he is able to forge closer ties between both countries, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. 

The Umno president expressed his belief that the former Padang Rengas MP could strengthen cooperation between Malaysia and the US. 

“...because we have had several previous ambassadors, including Jamaluddin Mohd Jarjis and Awang Adek Hussin who forged relations between the US and the Malaysian government, establishing not only business-to-business, but also peer-to-peer (commerce).  

“For Umno, what is important is to strengthen the government-to-government (ties) between the US and the Malaysian government,” he said when asked about Nazri’s appointment during a media conference today. 

He said that Nazri could organise meetings between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the US government and corporate leaders during the prime minister’s official visit to the US.  

On Thursday, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah presented letters of appointment to 10 Malaysian chief diplomatic representatives, including Nazri. 

Anwar explained yesterday that Nazri’s appointment was approved by the previous administration while Zahid clarified today that the appointment was based on Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recommendation during his tenure as prime minister. 

On another matter, Zahid said that Malaysia was previously placed under a Level 3 US Travel Advisory but was now upgraded to Level 2. 

He hoped that Nazri would be able to raise it to Level 1. – Bernama, February 12, 2023.