Consistency needed in foreign affairs

In a world where news breaks come from the social media, it is best for any politician in whatever portfolio to learn the art of diplomacy.

IT was painful to watch.

It was the video of the new Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya winding up the debates on the Royal Address for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat early this month.

He was struggling to reply to a question on the Palestine and Israel conflict and the Middle East peace process. At one time, he read a note passed on by his officer, paused and muttered: apa ni? (What is this?)

He looked up and said Maaf ya, mata kurang baik (I am sorry, my eyesight is poor)

Marzuki was only 10 days into the job and already answering questions on behalf of a ministry, dealing with resolution numbers in the United Nations and other issues that he is unfamiliar with.

He regained his composure after a while, but stuck to the script by reading the text prepared by his officers.

That 45 minutes must have been a torture for the senator from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

Last week on Asean Day, celebrated on Aug 8 every year, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah gave an address to mark the occasion in Putrajaya.

His guests included representatives from the nine Asean missions in Malaysia.

He spoke off the cuff and his speech was described as “strange” by several guests who attended the ceremony.

“I am not sure if I am listening to the Foreign Minister of Malaysia or an activist,” said one.

That morning, the minister tweeted “Asean should use a participatory approach in decision making, e.g. consultation among all stakeholders (state, business & civil society/ youth), Asean Summits without Asean Peoples Forum or without leaders’ interface with CSOs is just not helping.”

Another tweet went “Happy Asean Day. Erase d notion tht Asean is an elite club of govts/officials/meetgs. Must really actualise d meaning of Asean Centrality, Community & Cooperation d Asean Spirit.”

He repeated the same theme in his speech at the ceremony.

The new Foreign Minister and his deputy from Pakatan Harapan Government have been going for “tutorial” sessions on Malaysia’s foreign policy.

No matter how exposed anyone is to foreign affairs, it is still strange to hear and read tongue twisting acronyms in dealing with diplomacy on a daily basis. Worse still is understanding what all these mean.

These two politicians have been appointed by the Prime Minister to be in a ministry which is in the forefront to pursue an independent, principled and pragmatic foreign policy.

They need to be reminded that apart from the country’s leadership whatever they do or say, they are closely monitored globally.

“You are now a minister, so you must be circumspect. Minister’s words will become gospel, so you have to be careful,” said a former diplomat.

In a world now, where news breaks come from the social media, it is best for any politician in whatever portfolio to realise that tweets that come from them will be subject to far greater scrutiny. Just look at US President Donald Trump’s tweets.

A quick glance at the Foreign Minister’s tweet account shows that he has a penchant to use his own words and expressions and his own takes on certain things.

Perhaps on certain issues or areas, he is allowed to do so.

For the Foreign Minister, his deputy and Malaysian diplomats, when representing the country in any international meetings, they must safeguard the country’s sovereignty and national interests.

For example, one of the highlights for Asean is the annual foreign ministers meeting, a platform for the 10 ministers to update each other and to meet their counterparts including China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

One issue has continuously been a hot topic – the South China Sea – claimed by four Asean members and also China.

It is a sensitive issue which has created animosity and distrust among Asean countries and even between dialogue partners.

Three years ago when Malaysia was Asean chair, it hosted the Asean Defence Ministers Plus meeting. The ministers failed to issue a joint declaration because disagreement between the United States and China over how to address the South China Sea issue.

And in 2012, the Asean foreign ministers also failed to issue a joint communique in Cambodia over disagreement on the growing assertiveness of China in the South China Sea.

The Prime Minister is leaving for China on Friday and the South China Sea maritime dispute may be on the table during the leaders’ bilateral talks.

Surely by now, the foreign minister would have a fair idea and well briefed by his officers on Malaysia’s position in the issue should Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ask for his take.

“The Foreign Minister cannot simply blurt out his opinion, especially on the social media. You cannot afford to simply have interpretation no matter how strong you feel about it,” said an Asean diplomat.

In any decision making involving the country’s position in foreign matters, the minister and his deputy will be informed and consulted.

Wisma Putra officials must try to convince the new leadership of the ministry that on certain issues, it is best to not veer from Malaysia’s position in communicating their thoughts. These politicians must understand the context and background of why certain positions are made. They are new to the job and this is a period of building trust between them and the officials.

They must also be made aware like in an organisation like Asean, any new ideas must be discussed and obtained consensus from the rest.

Like Saifuddin’s tweet on getting the civil society and Asean, the grouping has actively involved NGOs over the years, and in fact, Malaysia started the tradition of engaging the civil society when it chaired Asean in 2005.

If the minister still feel strongly about it, then perhaps he should ask his Asean colleagues that it is time the grouping embraces the civil society and democratise the way Asean organises itself.

But he has to bear in mind the level of democracy or the lack of it in the least developed Asean members.

Malaysia, especially those coming from Wisma Putra, must be careful in calibrating all these messaging.

The Pakatan Government must be guided by principles if it wants consistency in foreign policy or risk its credibility being questioned the world over.