Disturbing Dubai debacle

THE punishment was quick. Being recalled, especially when the higher ups think you have done wrong, is much dreaded by any diplomats. The recall of the two Malaysian diplomats from the United Arab Emirates is another dark episode in the otherwise once proud Foreign Ministry.

Sure, there have been cases of our ambassadors or lower ranking diplomats sent home in the past for various problems including disciplinary. Tough actions have been taken but all these were done away from the glare of public scrutiny.

When a news portal broke the story of two diplomats sent home from the UAE following protocol failure for the Prime Minister’s Dubai visit in late March, Wisma Putra took the unusual step of issuing a three-page statement detailing how both officers failed to manage the necessary logistical and administrative arrangements for Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s official visit.

Also mentioned in the statement was their failure to inform the headquarters about the World Government Summit (WGS), which was held during the Dubai Expo. The Prime Minister only attended the closing ceremony after he received an invitation to the event from the UAE government.

Such mistakes in the logistics of the prime minister’s visit could have been avoided, but what is disturbing is the way in which the diplomats were treated after the incident. They were immediately ordered to return to Kuala Lumpur, as soon as the PM’s visit ended. While the statement did not name the officers, details of their positions in the UAE were enough for a television station to name and shame them with their photos included in the main news bulletin the same evening.

In my years of being part of the media delegation to cover the Prime Minister’s official trips since the 90’s, we were normally informed weeks, or sometimes months, in advance on the forthcoming visit to enable us to make the necessary preparations, including applying for visa (if necessary) and media accreditation (a tedious process for regional or multilateral summits like Asean or Apec for security reasons). The logistics including hotel and transportation would be arranged by Wisma Putra (to keep up with the leader’s movement), which the media would pay once there.

There were occasions advance media briefings were held at Wisma Putra on what the Prime Minister would be doing, who he would be meeting, the issues to be raised, et cetera. Over time this procedure changed, with media briefings (or curtain raisers) conducted by the ambassador based in the country where the Prime Minister was visiting.

Obviously a well-established procedure has been put in place over the years, following which the Malaysian mission in that particular country, the relevant desk (at Wisma Putra) and the Prime Minister’s Office would coordinate very closely, every step of the way. Also involved is the embassy of the visiting country in Malaysia where the ambassador also has an important role to play. There is very little possibility of any surprise or glitch if the procedures are followed closely.

Yes, hiccups and last minute demands are made to Wisma Putra as the lead agency, yet in the UAE recall incident, you can’t help but wonder why only these two officers were blamed. Recalling a head of mission is exercised extremely cautiously as it signifies a very serious situation of a breakdown in the standard line of communication.

If we check out the videos or footage of such trips, we would think that everything runs smoothly but behind the scenes are sometimes months of endless tasks and thankless work to ensure the trip is a success.

When the prime minister decides to visit another country, Wisma Putra will immediately swing into action.

Once the dates are finalised, say for a bilateral visit, discussions will take place on who the Prime Minister should be meeting (apart from leader of the country), sideline events to be organised such as signing of memoranda of understanding between both governments to deepen bilateral cooperation, or organising events for the Prime Minister to meet the Malaysian diaspora. Normally there is also a business delegation following the prime minister and they too have their own set of business matching programmes.

What is often not made public are the logistical arrangements for hotels, transportation, restaurants for dining (when the Prime Minister has some private time) and diplomatic approvals for special aircraft. Oh, did I mention that if the Prime Minister’s spouse is also accompanying him for the visit, a separate programme will have to be organised since spouses do not sit in bilateral meetings.

Security details for the prime minister is another aspect our mission overseas will have to deal with the host government. But that is another story.

Preparation for visits is not the only thing our diplomats abroad have to manage. For some missions, the bulk of work is consular matters especially at consulates-general with large numbers of Malaysian diaspora.

“It’s not about clinking glasses and attending cocktails,” says one diplomat.

“Sometimes dealing with humans, dead or alive, can be challenging,” adds another.

We may be unaware that at these 107 Malaysian missions, for anything and everything related to Malaysia, our diplomats are there.

There have been visits to the morgues to identify and confirm the bodies of Malaysian citizens or going to prisons to help our fellow citizens in trouble with local authorities to ensure their rights are protected.

Who can forget the way the Malaysian embassy in Beijing became the focus of the next of kin of passengers of the vanished MH370 flight. The staff suffered endless verbal abuse and bore the brunt of the relatives’ anger when our diplomats did not have the answer of the plane’s whereabouts, and hence were unable to provide them closure.

Or the difficult negotiations to rescue the nine Malaysians in North Korea, banned from leaving following the murder of Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at KLIA2 in 2017, and the expelling of its ambassador to Kuala Lumpur.

No textbook can teach you how to negotiate when the trust level is zero, whether it is with a nuclear-armed pariah state, with grieving relatives of an unsolvable tragedy, or even with your own political masters.

That is just a day in the life of our frontliners overseas. It depends on the situation and a diplomat must be up to it because time and time again they are told they must have sincere desire to serve the people and nation. But who do they turn to when mistakes are committed, probably they are at fault too, only to be blamed publicly and these faults are being listed for the whole country to know.

Some of the best work of our diplomats have been conducted behind closed doors, so does it befit them to be named and shamed like common criminals, when there is blame that needs to be shifted around?