Nazri: I had no intention of interfering

PETALING JAYA: Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz says he had no intention of meddling in the affairs of Wisma Putra over remarks made by the Chinese ambassador in Petaling Street.

He admitted that he made a mistake in assuming that Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican had decided on his own to have Wisma Putra call the ambassador to explain his remarks.

“I did not know that the Foreign Minister had instructed his deputy,” Nazri told The Star Online from Turkey yesterday.

“The normal practice in Cabinet when one minister is not in the country is that only another minister can act on his behalf, not the deputy minister,” he said.

He said this was the reason he thought the Foreign Minister did not make the decision to call ambassador Dr Huang Huikang because Datuk Seri Anifah Aman was in New York at that time for the United Nations General Assembly.

On the eve of a planned red-shirt rally in Petaling Street on Saturday, the ambassador reportedly said that China was against anyone using violence to disrupt public order.

Dr Huang was also reported to have said that the Chinese government opposed terrorism as well as any form of discrimination and extremism.

He said Beijing did not fear voicing its opinion on anything that could threaten its interests, infringe on the rights of its citizens to do business or disrupt the relationship between Malaysia and China.

Following that, Wisma Putra called Dr Huang, who met with Acting Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin in Putrajaya for two hours on Monday.

Reezal, in a statement yesterday, said diplomatic protocol was not breached.

He said the decision to call Dr Huang was made with the approval of Anifah, who had discussed it with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was also in New York.

“It is unfortunate and untrue to assume that I as the deputy foreign minister made the decision without following proper Wisma Putra protocol and procedure,” Reezal said.

He said it was regrettable that baseless accusations had complicated the ministry’s efforts to firmly handle the matter.

In a statement from New York on Monday night, Anifah said it was regrettable that several Cabinet ministers had acted and made statements to the press on the matter without first consulting him.

“Their interference has created a negative perception in the eyes of the public. I hope this will not be repeated,” he said.

The red-shirt rally did not go on after a leader of the group was arrested by police on Friday night. It was planned to protest the supposed monopoly of Petaling Street by Chinese traders.