‘A black day for Wisma Putra’

Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman is not the right candidate to be appointed as ambassador to Indonesia.

Foreign policy consultant and former ambassador Datuk Dennis Ignatius said Tajuddin’s appointment is appalling and outrageous, diminishing Malaysia’s international standing.

“He has shown himself to be crude, rude and entirely lacking in the kind of skills required of an ambassador,’’ said Ignatius.

Ignatius opined that Indonesia, Malaysia’s most important bilateral partner, deserves a better Malaysian ambassador candidate.

He added that Tajuddin’s appointment would put Indonesia in a difficult position.

“No country would want to have someone like that as ambassador, but given the close relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia, it would be difficult for Indonesia to say ‘no’,’’ said Ignatius.

However, Ignatius stressed that he is not tied to the idea that only career diplomats should be ambassadors.

He clarified that regardless of whether the ambassadorial candidate is a career diplomat or political appointee, the individual must be able to function well in the post and carry out his responsibilities with a high degree of professionalism.

The retired diplomat highlighted how politicians like the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman and the late Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin were brilliant ambassadors.

Unfortunately, most politicians appointed as ambassadors did not make the cut, he said.

According to Ignatius, the political appointees don’t perform well and are rarely committed to the job, the protocol that comes with it, and the endless meetings, receptions and networking.

This, more often than not, is why officers who work under these mediocre ambassadors end up doing all the work.

“It becomes a holiday appointment at the taxpayers’ expense.

“They often think that because the prime minister appoints them, they don’t have to follow instructions from the head office,’’ said Ignatius.

He added that as a former foreign service official, he believes that Tajuddin’s appointment is a black day for Wisma Putra and a setback for national diplomacy.

Meanwhile, former Malaysian high commissioner to Singapore, Datuk Ilango Karuppannan, said Tajuddin’s appointment might not necessarily be an “unmitigated disaster”.

“Of course, Wisma Putra would not like it because it takes away one ambassadorial post. So, Tajuddin must work smart,” he said.

Ilango said Tajuddin should leave the real work of handling bilateral relations to the diplomats in the embassy and Wisma Putra.

“He should not be making public statements without a script from the embassy,” Ilango stressed.