KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Yet another six political appointees of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government were axed from the positions as government diplomats, Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has revealed.
Those axed include the ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim and the ambassador to Vatican City Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok, according to a Parliamentary written reply by Saifuddin in response to a question posted from Labis MP Pang Hok Liong.
Zahrain was formerly a PKR assemblyman before joining Umno, while Dompok was the president of former BN component party United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko).
Also named was ambassador to Finland, Blanche O’Leary, the wife of MyPPP president Tan Sri M.Kayveas, another former BN component party.
Others included Datuk Ghulam Jelani Khanizam, the high commissioner to Brunei; Datuk Adeline Leong, president of the Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre in Taiwan; and Datuk Siow Chen Pin, the consul-general to Kunming, China.
Leong was a long-time civil servant in Sabah, while Siow was an MCA politician.
The minister also said the ambassadors to the United States and Cambodia, Tan Sri Zulhasnan Rafique and Datuk Seri Hasan Malek who both are Umno politicians, resigned from the positions early this year.
