Government must ensure professional diplomats helm foreign missions

INTERNATIONAL relations are experiencing fundamental changes at an unprecedented rate.

The outbreak of Covid-19, the threat of climate change and major powers’ geopolitical rivalry have contributed to the changes.

The world is prone to myriad uncertainties.

Therefore, someone who is professionally trained in diplomacy must be at the helm of any mission.

The glittering world of foreign service has attracted many people, particularly outgoing politicians.

The typical image depicted in Hollywood films — lavish dinners with dignitaries, Italian-tailored suits and driving a luxury diplomatic car along the Whitehall Road in London — is an absolute misrepresentation of what it is like to be a diplomat.

A diplomat requires a comprehensive set of skills and robust knowledge of national and international affairs.

The practice of appointing an ambassador from the inner circle began during Tunku Abdul Rahman’s premiership.

The Malayan Foreign Service was merely a concept at that time.

During a debate in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 30, 1959, Tunku Abdul Rahman was grilled by Kuala Terengganu Selatan member of parliament (MP) Datuk Onn Jaafar, with the argument revolving around diplomatic appointments “be kept free from political influence”.

Nonetheless, the opening of seven Malayan foreign missions required the government to recruit experienced individuals to oversee the intricate web of diplomatic affairs.

Hence, the government appointed and deployed senior politicians, among others, Tan Sri Nik Ahmad Kamil to London and Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman to Washington.

Even though most of the earliest political appointees for the ambassadorship were capable and well-versed in international politics, there was an incident where a foreign service officer found himself in a difficult situation to perform an honest job when a politician was at the helm of a diplomatic mission.

The late Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil Jaafar’s experience in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) should be a reference case.

When Kuala Lumpur decided to normalise diplomatic relations with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Bonn reacted by following the Hallstein Doctrine and threatened to withdraw from ongoing negotiations to provide development assistance to our country.

As narrated by Kamil, he was ordered to represent the then ambassador, a serving MP from Kedah who has a yellow streak down his back, to face Bonn’s wrath.

I am sure today’s diplomats have similar experiences during their service to the country. Recently, social media was on fire when the news of Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s appointment as ambassador to Indonesia broke out.

It seems like an ambassadorship is a retirement plan for the outgoing politician.

Indonesia is our respected neighbour and an ally in the international arena.

Jakarta was one of our six earliest diplomatic missions, alongside Bangkok, Canberra, Washington D.C, London and New Delhi.

It signifies how important Indonesia is to our foreign policy.

Throughout the 65 years of the ups and downs in bilateral relationship with Jakarta, ethnocultural affinity is what makes relations between the two countries unique.

Like siblings, both countries compete in domains such as economy and politics. Yet, we respect each other and work towards mutual prosperity.

However, ethnocultural affinity is also a point of contention that caused a diplomatic row.

Diplomatic tensions are sometimes caused by petty squabbles, such as who has the right to claim rendang, batik and kuda kepang.

Nonetheless, we survived the diplomatic bickering by bermain adik-beradik (playing relatives). It is noteworthy that this concept has been narrated multiple times in Hikayat Hang Tuah.

Unlike the realist assumptions premised on power play and national interest, bermain adik-beradik is the Nusantara pre-modern concept of foreign relations by cherishing the Indo-Malay kinship, historical linkages and tolerance.

Unfortunately, our ambassador-designate to Jakarta has a reputation for being tactless.

We hope, therefore, that there are no such utterances that can potentially affect our cordial relations.

Looking at the short and long term, and beyond, Putrajaya should prioritise appointing professional diplomats, who are experts in handling the dynamics of diplomacy, to helm foreign missions.