Starting with a clean slate

Man in charge: Mohamad Hasan speaking to reporters after a briefing by his ministry’s senior officials at Wisma Putra on Friday. — Bernama

Dear Tok Mat,

JUST before the Prime Minister confirmed your appointment as Foreign Minister in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, there was already talk of you leaving the Defence Ministry. Many of the first reactions to this was that the move was related to political manoeuvring within your party, Umno. Unfortunately some see this move as a demotion.

I think many have the wrong impression about Foreign Affairs being a junior post. In some countries, the foreign minister typically has among the highest profiles in Cabinet. For instance, in the United States, the Secretary of State is the first member of the Cabinet in line in the presidential succession plan after the vice-president, Speaker of the House of Representatives and president pro-tempore of the US Senate. The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary belongs to the four Great Offices of State along with the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary.

As the Foreign Affairs Minister, you will also be responsible for the welfare of the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians abroad through engagement with the diaspora and consular services. With the growing numbers of Malaysians crossing borders in an increasingly unstable global environment, you will have ample opportunities to leverage your crisis management skills in deploying evacuation operations like the ones conducted in Ukraine and Sudan recently. (Let’s pray they will not recur.)

There is also this common view out there that once you are assigned to the Foreign Ministry, it’s a ticket out of politics, especially when you are a minister from Umno, as you are “taken away” from your party supporters.

Let’s not get into how important party grassroots are in Umno. This is not the time to think about politics (OK, sometimes you can be occupied since you are No.2 in the party!), but you must consider Wisma Putra as a plum posting, and also that this job demands frequent travels.

You should be familiar with several of your predecessors such as Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar. They spent several years in Wisma Putra, started slowly but they later raised the bar despite the clash of personalities within the ministry back then. At the end of the day, it was a team effort in dealing with and tackling any issue because they only had one objective: the national interest.

Pak Lah created the opportunity to take foreign policy down to the party grassroots. During his time, when the Bosnian war erupted, he talked about the Muslim genocide taking place there which resonated with ordinary folk.

A short one-year stint at Mindef was a busy one for you, and the officers you left behind only have kind words for you. Of course, there is the littoral combat ship scandal, which you inherited coming into Mindef, but on other matters, you showed leadership to get things moving, including the RM300 Bantuan Sara Hidup aid programme for non-pensionable veterans over 60 covering all retired members of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the renewal of defence cooperation MOU with Vietnam after a five-year lapse.

Mindef has obviously given you the necessary exposure both domestically and internationally for your new position.

Foreign Affairs is the most important policy motivator for the government – you should seize the opportunity and take advantage of that.

Wisma Putra, as you would have found out by now if not soon enough, is not just about geopolitics and geostrategies but also about understanding the interplay of global affairs.

International issues are fluid, there are matters that require quick action; and how you look at the future and the bigger picture is vital. Conversely, some matters require time for reflection or you risk making self-limiting decisions and end up shooting yourself in the foot. You will no doubt be courted by countries all the time but you must bear in mind that national interest trumps expediency and populism and one that must be advanced.

Malaysia has seen many incoming and outgoing foreign ministers but the fundamentals must remain. That is how people measure how the government conducts its international relations, wields foreign policy and looks after national interest.

Malaysia’s conduct on the international stage should always be guided by the best principles as well as consistency and pragmatism. Malaysia will earn global respect by keeping to these tenets. Save the rhetoric for elsewhere.

Today, the external dimension is very important. Whether it’s the economy or politics, each has its own global dimension. So the Foreign Ministry has to be everywhere to enable it to find that niche.

For example, Palestine has been an issue year in year out but with the war in Gaza and the killings of Palestinians by Israel getting worse, Malaysia needs to continue playing an active role in voicing out against the blatant acts against humanity. We do expect Malaysia to take the lead for we may be a small country but we can become a middle size power by generating ideas.

There are many creative ways to maximise out of foreign affairs. It is not four-eyed meetings or group meetings, it can go beyond that as networking and new relationships are built especially during coffee chats.

And allow me to touch on the welfare of Wisma Putra staff which I have written about several times in the past as it affects the running of missions. The situation may have improved a little bit but don’t forget it is not just people, for we have buildings to maintain too. Surely our overseas frontliners deserve better facilities including replacing old tables, chairs and cupboards!

Tok Mat, you will be one of the most sought after ministers for your views on global issues and for working closely with the prime minister especially when he goes on working trips abroad. Treat this as a “learning” process and opportunity to see the prime minister in action with other leaders.

The ball is in your court to change the perception people have of foreign affairs. The world is your stage to project your image and demonstrate capabilities in handling challenges ahead. All of us are watching you as the country’s top diplomat.

Yours Sincerely,

Deputy Executive Editor Mergawati Zulfakar, who has been following Malaysia’s foreign affairs for nearly 30 years and has dealt with seven foreign ministers.