February 1, 2012
Quo Vadis, Wisma Putra: A Message to Foreign Minister Anifah Aman as well as His Secretary-General
By Din Merican
I am simply overwhelmed by a unprecedented series of comments from readers upon my Blog over a essay in The STAR journal by Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Secretary General, Tan Sri Radzi Abdul Rahman upon a Ministry's Consular Service, as if this work is a core commercial operation of a Foreign Ministry.
As we have said earlier as well as right away repeat it, a essay ought to have been sealed off by a Desk military officer concerned. Consular matters during a Ministry as well as during a Overseas Missions have been handled by Executive Officers' as well as clerks.That finished a little commenter unhappy.
In fact, we incurred a rage of a little surrogates in Wisma Putra who commented, rather
foolishly we thought, under a cloak of pseudo-names. In stead of perplexing to react definitely to my views, they chose self rejection by ignoring reality. Instead of receiving stairs to deal with a sad state of their Ministry, they chose to turn very defensive of a standing quo. These have been a carma (cari makan) types who right away populate a Foreign Ministry. Time ot fix this censure of a critical miss of professionalism.
The Malaysian open expects Wisma Putra's Secretary General to pen articles which reflect vital thinking as well as deals with critical issues which begin Malaysia's inhabitant seductiveness as well as a control of diplomacy.
In my comments, we additionally finished reference to Wisma Putra's excellence days un! der a ca re of (Tun) Muhammad Ghazali garbage bin Shafie (affectionately well known to his staff as "King Ghaz") in a early years of a country's history.
It is appropriate which we should quote this wonderful leader of lost group as well as women of a Malaysian Foreign Service of a 1960s as well as 1970s. They were his final difference upon a subject upon a diplomacy, which is a categorical job of Wisma Putra.
He said:
"We wish to have friends with everybody. That was a style from a birth of a Foreign Ministry, until today. This does not mean which we do not have a stand, we do, only look during a organisation mount upon a question of Palestine all these years. But we have friends, as well as it works
We built this method out of nothing. We had no indication upon which to base ourselves, no guide as to how to build it. Just suppose we have been a builder with a little useful tools but no architectural plans, where do we start? So we learnt upon a job. we found which a boys in a Foreign Ministry matured very quick compared to those in alternative ministries, because whereas they had their laws as well as regulations, we only had a believe to rely on
So ambassadors today, as before, contingency have honour as well as courage. Of course, they contingency be intelligent, contingency break down in to parts things. You do not in to a nation only to envoy, we go there to observe, to see what they have been doong. Then we inform behind to a home country. They contingency be correct as well as up to date. Yes,diplomats can be trained, but they contingency be fightersI have no regrets looking back, no regrets all. So it remains. We should keep making friendsit works." (
These were a final difference of King Ghazali for his successors similar to Anifah Aman, a Foreign Ministry to remember as well as action upon. Wisma Putra is a critical place because a job of tact is both severe as well as perfectionist of those who right away occupy Number One Wisma Putra.
The summary in my Blog is transparent a open has turn discerning as well as more demanding.
Wisma Putra competence consider which Malaysians have only medium believe of general affairs, but readers of this Blog have shown they retain an substantial learn of universe affairs as well as a complexities as well as have sophisticated views upon a broad operation of general issues. Don't blink a people as well as my readers.
Aside this, officers during Wisma Putra know very well which Radzi is not an zealous reader, nonetheless he quotes an obscure poet. He is additionally lustful of telling his colleagues as well as friends who insinuate to him about complaints opposite Wisma Putra as well as Radzi's batch reply have been regularly which he had not listened any.
My indicate is which a responses of readers to a Blog represent a cross-section of a silent infancy of a Malaysian public, who crave to be informed upon unfamiliar process issues as well as tact as well as how they stroke upon Malaysia's image, well-being as well as confidence (national interest).
Radzi's shoal essay in The Star! on ly exacerbates a open perception of a critical decrease in a Ministry's intellectual collateral as well as leadership.
I am finished to understand which Wisma Putra has recently created a "Special Speech Writing Committee" comprising of twenty-seven officers. If Radzi's essay as well as a Foreign Minister recent debate is a product of this committee, afterwards a rot is really low indeed.
And FM Anifah speech! It is a fifth grader stuff to a tactful corps upon January 5 this year in Kuala Lumpur. He talked of a significance of a neighbours as well as ASEAN. What substantively has a Minister finished in which direction, we wonder? As we distant as we know, Indonesia as well as Singapore with tip flight Foreign Ministers have been providing a much indispensable thinking upon ASEAN, whilst we remain calm to fool around along.
Since we mostly say which ASEAN is a cornerstone of a unfamiliar policy, a Foreign Minister could have used a opportunity to go over general as well as prosaic statements about a support for ASEAN Community,and go in to a little sum how a open as well as a universe can benefit from further ASEAN integration in conditions of a regional economy/business, education, culture, etc.
Similarly, a Foreign Minister could have chose any series of issues nation a nation as well as a segment as well as how a supervision was traffic with them so as to ensure a seductiveness of a nation as well as a segment have been protected.
Malaysians have been seriously endangered which a nation has fallen off a general radar. Gone have been a days when Malaysia was during a forefront. In Oct final year, a University of Cambosia as well as a Singapore Foreign Ministry organized a Roundtable in Phnom Penh to brainstorm upon Cambodian 2012 chairmanship of ASEAN. Singapore's FM Shanmugan as well as a Ambassador there experience in a discussion. They were both articulate as well as engaging.
And right away we read of a first ever central revisit of President Thein Sein of Myan! mar to S ingapore to seek out a city state's substantial expertise upon inhabitant development, together with banking as well as finance. Worse still, President Aquino has nonetheless to pay an central revisit to Malaysia. Why -???
What have a Ambassadors in Phnom Penh, Yangon as well as Manila, let alone Wisma Putra being doing?
There have additionally been complaints from readers upon a recruitment of diplomats as well as their proficiency of in English. we contingency concur which a criticism is a valid one. This problem, however, goes behind to a days when Tun Ahmad Sarji (left), who was afterwards a Chief Secretary to a Government during a Mahathir era.
Going behind to a old Wisma Putra, whose conduit diplomats were asked to fill up a posts of Secretaries General of a Ministries of Finance (Tan Sri Zain Azahari) as well as Youth as well as Sports (Datuk Jamaluddin Abu Bakar), Ahmad Sarji, probably with a most appropriate of intention, sent to Wisma Putra scores as well as scores of half-baked UKM as well as USM graduates in a late 197os as well as 1980s.
Secondly, today, there is nonetheless an additional large censure between officers is which each thing contingency be created in Malay, reports, minutes, as well as so on. Wisma Putra officers given a 1970s use to write in Malay to outward agencies. This new development is assumingly as a result of a no-brainer gauge from a stream Chief Secretary to a Government
Internal reports, minutes, minutes, jot down of conversations as well as alternative forms of communications have been necessary tools of a diplomat. By depriving them a chance to home their skills to use English, a language in an operational environment, how can we expect to perform them well when it comes to representing a nation in a genuine world? It is similar to! asking a solders to sight with plastic rifles as well as expect them to quarrel effectively regulating genuine weapons in a war.
Another reader, "Ir.Somdol", probably a surrogate, tried to urge Radzi by claiming which no a single during Wisma Putra has ever listened of 'Din Merican', implying which we was talking out of my hat. Never mind, Samdol could only have gone to my webpage to know more about me. Again, we am not a emanate here.The rapid as well as roughly unstoppable deterioration in a standards of professionalism in Wisma Putra is.
Just for Samdol's further information, Khalid Yaacob (now Tun), Tan Sri Kamil Jaafar, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, as well as Tan Sri Mohamed Khatib as well as a horde of others used to live during 272 Jalan Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur when we were all during Wisma Putra in a early 1960s. They had distinguished careers in Wisma Putra, whilst we left for a private sector.
All a above matters have been indeed worrying, call me to pen this essay for a attention of both Foreign Minister Anifah Aman as well as a Secretary General Radzi Abdul Rahman.
The Foreign Minister as well as a Secretary -General contingency be endangered with crafting unfamiliar process which secures Malaysia's interests in a world, which is making as well as winning friends. And my readers wish to listen to more upon Wisma Putra's core commercial operation unfamiliar policy, a involvement in ASEAN as well as relations with actors in general affairs.
The Secretary General's as well as a Minister's debate mount out as evidence of a deficiency of vital thinking during Wisma Putra. It is unfortunate a Prime Minister is assumingly unconcerned about a rot which has set in Wisma Putra. It is, however, more likely which Najib has no confidence in a Foreign Ministry, relying in stead upon a advice of consider ! armoured column similar to ISIS Malaysia as well as former diplomats, as well as his own Foreign Policy team upon a Fourth Floor, Prime Minister's Department, Putrjaya. So Wisma Putra is only a Post Office with overpaid workers.
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