KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 – Wisma Putra today refuted a Free Malaysia Today article alleging that two Malaysian diplomats stationed in the United Arab Emirates were recalled due to a lack of “guest status” for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob during his visit there last month.
Instead, the Foreign Ministry insisted Ismail Sabri’s visit to Dubai between March 29 and 31 for the Dubai Expo 2020 was a “success” in achieving its targets and objectives.
“The Foreign Ministry regrets the said report because it not only contained inaccurate information but is speculative in nature and were baseless allegations,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Based on the report, it is clear that the sources referenced or quoted did not come from an official or parties directly involved in the arrangements of the visit.”
However, the ministry explained that the two diplomats were recalled because they failed to coordinate and arrange the administrative and logistical elements of the prime minister’s visit based on standard operating procedures (SOPs) for high-level foreign visits, especially during his arrival on March 29.
“The failure included the prime minister having a long wait at the arrival hall for Dubai immigration clearance. Apart from that, the security coverage and motorcade that was supposed to be prepared for the prime minister as required under the SOPs were also not there.”
Quoting unnamed sources, the FMT news claimed that Malaysian Ambassador Tarid Sufian and the consul-general in Dubai, Hasril Abdul Hamid were the only officials present to greet Ismail Sabri.
The report claims that no top UAE officials were present, which goes against regular protocols whereby a host country assigns senior officials to receive foreign dignitaries.
It also noted that both Tarid and Hasril were assigned to a pool of civil servants in Putrajaya, pending reassignment to other posts.
“The act of recalling the two officers is not unusual and was made after consultation with relevant parties, including the Department of Public Service (JPA). It is taken to safeguard the interests of bilateral relations between Malaysia and the countries concerned, in addition to ensuring competence and the importance of public service,” said the ministry.
In refuting the facts of the report, Wisma Putra said it was untrue that the repatriation of the diplomats was due to a lack of “guest status”, as this was similar to the prime minister’s visit to the United Nations general assembly.
The ministry said although Ismail Sabri was not accorded the status, the Malaysian mission in New York had provided a security detail and motorcades as required under SOPs.
“The two officials had also failed to inform the Foreign Ministry in Putrajaya on the holding of the WGS (World Government Summit) that was held in the Dubai Expo area,” it said.
“The ministry’s highest leadership had only found out about the WGS on the morning of March 30 from other sources.”
“If ministry officials were informed earlier about the WGS, surely efforts would have been made for the prime minister to deliver a speech at the program.”
Despite the apparent lack of compliance with the SOPs by the recalled diplomats, the ministry said the prime minister had managed to meet with Keluarga Malaysia in Dubai.
It also said Ismail Sabri had attended the closing ceremony of the WGS on March 30 and met with UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum.
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