Envoy carries on despite personal loss

On the occasion of the United States' 227th Independence Day today, US Ambassador to Malaysia Marie T.Huhtala talks to PAUL GABRIEL on the prospects for warmer ties between Washington and Kuala Lumpur. 

US AMBASSADOR Marie T. Huhtala knows about the perils of war and what the loss of life means. 

Her daily routine was coming along nicely when things came to a halt here one evening last October. 

With the United States beating the war drums on Iraq, Huhtala had been getting emotionally prepared to see her son, Lt Jorma of the US Air Force, off for possible combat action. 

But Operation Iraqi Freedom was not even in motion when the budding pilot was killed in a flight-training incident near Hill Air Force base in Utah on Oct 25. 

It was joy that turned to despair. Only a month earlier, the envoy and her husband, Eino Jr, celebrated the birth of their first grandchild to daughter Karen Rulli, the elder of their two children. 

Despite the ensuing tragedy, Huhtala pulled herself together after attending her son’s funeral to return to Kuala Lumpur to broker diplomacy with Malaysia, which had its own premiums. 

“It (Jorma’s death) has really enhanced my feelings on the loss of life. It was a terribly sad event and we’re still not over it yet,’” she says in an interview. 

It was in no small way that Malaysians played a part in getting this much-liked person back on her feet again. Huhtala relates about the outpouring of condolences that helped ease her pain. 

“It was quite extraordinary, the number of cards and letters I received, even from people I did not know. It touched me extremely,” she adds. 

But not even her son’s tragic death in US uniform can sway her belief that the US-led military strike on Iraq was justified. 

“The US Government invested years of efforts with the United Nations Security Council to resolve the Iraqi problem, and conducted an intense effort in the six months leading to the war to fashion a multilateral approach. 

“It is only when we failed (to get Iraq to disarm) that we put together a coalition comprising over 40 nations. It is a distortion to call our action on Iraq as unilateral,” she explains. 

With the latest CNN-USA Gallup Poll indicating a drop in support on the part of US citi- 

zens for the Bush administration’s ‘meddling’ in Iraq, the president’s chief diplomat here stresses that Washington wants to end the debate and get on with the task of restoring democracy and rebuilding the country. 

Malaysia, which strongly opposed the war, need not fear “punitive action” by the US, she remarks, adding instead that her Government would like to see Malaysia involved in the reconstruction of Iraq. 

“We’re very much focused on current challenges (in Iraq) and Malaysia, which has already offered humanitarian medical assistance, can help in physical reconstruction aspects. 

“Primary contractors are looking for subcontractors, and there’s plenty of scope for Malaysia. If the Malaysian Government wants to go in and offer help in the form of reconstruction, that will be fine. 

“This will be a good thing for both sides to focus on,” she remarks. 

Sworn in as her country’s ambassador here just two days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, the envoy responds to concerns by senior US State Department officials on Malaysia’s “dissenting voice” in a region where Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines have been supportive. 

“Your country strongly opposed us (on Iraq) and that’s just a fact we’re going to have to live with. But, like I’ve said, our emphasis is on moving toward the future,” she reiterates. 

Huhtala, who was previously deputy chief of mission in Bangkok, told a strategic issues forum on US-Malaysia relations recently that the list of issues uniting both countries is far longer than that of the differences. 

The ambassador showed the “evidence” during this interview, reading from a list of “pros” which included trade, investments, counter-terrorism work, legal issues, development and capacity building, environment, health, drug trafficking, property rights and co-operation on SARS. 

“There are probably five or six more elements I haven’t thought of on the top of my head. In any case, there’s always going to be a level of debate between the two countries,” she opines. 

Turning to the embassy’s public affairs chief Karl Stoltz, who was seated beside her, the envoy says that both of them would have the responsibility of better explaining US policies to the Malaysian Government and people. 

“I think we need to do a better job because it has not always been clear to our friends in Malaysia as to why we (the US administration) do the things we do,” she adds. 

She rejects talk by some who label US-Malaysia relations as a “love-hate” union. 

“That’s a very emotional way to characterise our relations. I prefer to think of it in terms of interest, and we have a huge array of shared interests. That’s why we’ll always be at the table together.” 

Huhtala is certainly aware of the sore points, which include unhappiness with the State Department’s public travel announcement on Malaysia and long delays in the issuance of visas. 

In her usual convincing fashion, she ventures to set the record straight on both scores.  

“First, there is no travel warning on Malaysia. What we have is a public announcement involving only the eastern part of Sabah due to the kidnapping incidents in Sipadan. 

“The other parts of Sabah, the whole of Sarawak and peninsular Malaysia are safe to visit, you’ll know this if you read the announcement carefully. It’s just one area of Malaysia we’re telling our citizens to be careful about when visiting,” she points out. 

Huhtala says the embassy is in touch with Malaysian police and military over the situation in eastern Sabah and the announcement is currently being reviewed. 

On the visa issue, she assures that applications from Malaysian students headed for the September intake in the US would be “better entertained”. 

“There won’t be a repeat of last year’s situation as we have improved our procedures significantly. In fact, we issued well over 90% of all visas applied here in Malaysia. 

“We have a very high approval rating for Malaysians, particularly your students. Many students have already applied (for visas) this year and a team of professionals is handling their requests,” she discloses. 

The student issue will find a particular spot in the ambassador’s heart this time around, with the American-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce setting up a scholarship fund in memory of her late son. 

The inaugural scholarship under the fund will be awarded to a Malaysian to pursue studies in the United States later this year.