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KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah should bear the responsibility for the mismanagement that plagued Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Anwar said that neither Malaysia’s ambassadors nor lower-level officials should be held accountable for the incident.
“In my experience as a minister for many years in previous governments, we have never heard of a prime minister’s official visit not being feted by the country that had supposedly invited him,” he said in a short video posted on his Facebook page.
Anwar said the foreign minister should be the one to answer for the country’s diplomatic corps being in such apparent disarray.
“The Foreign Ministry must answer as never has a country been insulted like this due to the negligence of its foreign minister.
“The foreign minister should issue a statement on this incident and be held accountable,” he added.
On Monday, national news agency Bernama reported Wisma Putra as saying failures in coordination had resulted in the prime minister being forced to wait for passport and immigration clearance in the arrival hall at Dubai International Airport.
The same report said there was no security coverage or motorcade for the prime minister as per the usual practice for heads of state.
Wisma Putra also said the two diplomats did not inform the Foreign Ministry about the World Government Summit during the Dubai Expo and that arrangements would otherwise have been made for the prime minister to deliver a speech there.
According to Bernama, the prime minister’s visit in conjunction with Expo 2020 Dubai saw him attending the Malaysia Pavilion’s closing ceremony and appreciation ceremony for its staff, as well as witnessing the signing of several memoranda of understanding between Malaysian and international firms.
The prime minister had also reportedly met with UAE prime minister and vice-president Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Ruler of Dubai.
Due to the debacle, Malaysia’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Consul-General of Malaysia in Dubai were both recalled.
Public Service Department director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shafiq Abdullah said they would be reassigned to Wisma Putra and not the Public Service Department’s (PSD) pool system of civil servants.
