February 1, 2012
Quo Vadis, Wisma Putra: A Message to Foreign Minister Anifah Aman as good as His Secretary-General
By Din Merican
I am simply impressed by a rare series of comments from readers upon my Blog over a essay in The STAR newspaper 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 you have said earlier as good as right away repeat it, a essay oughst to have been signed off by a Desk military officer concerned. Consular matters during a Ministry as good as during a Overseas Missions have been rubbed by Executive Officers' as good as clerks.That done a little commenter unhappy.
In fact, you incurred a rage of a little surrogates in Wisma Putra who commented, rather
foolishly you thought, underneath a disguise of pseudo-names. In stead of trying to react positively to my views, they chose self denial by ignoring reality.
Instead of receiving stairs to understanding with a unhappy state of their Ministry, they chose to become really defensive of a standing quo. These have been a carma (cari makan) sorts who right away populate a Foreign Ministry. Time ot repair this problem of a critical miss of professionalism.
The Malaysian open expects Wisma Putra's Secretary General to coop articles which simulate strategic meditative as good as understanding with critical issues which affect Malaysia's inhabitant seductiveness as good as a conduct of diplomacy.
In my comments, you ! addition ally done reference to Wisma Putra's excellence days underneath a leadership of (Tun) Muhammad Ghazali garbage bin Shafie (affectionately known to his staff as "King Ghaz") in a early years of a country's history.
It is appropriate which you should quote this smashing leader of a lost men as good as women of a Malaysian Foreign Service of 1960s as good as 1970s who served their nation with honour as good as dignity. These were his final difference upon a subject of a diplomacy, which is a main pursuit of Wisma Putra.
He said:
"We wish to have friends with everybody. That was a style from a bieing born of a Foreign Ministry, until today. This does not mean which you do not have a stand, you do, usually look during a organisation mount upon a subject of Palestine all these years. But you have friends, as good as it works
We built this ministry out of nothing. We had no model upon which to bottom ourselves, no guide as to how to set up it. Just imagine you have been a builder with a little utilitarian collection but no architectural plans, where do you start? So you learnt upon a job. you found which a boys in a Foreign Ministry grown really quick compared to those in alternative ministries, given since they had their laws as good as regulations, you usually had a experience to rest on
So ambassadors today, as before, contingency have honour as good as courage. Of course, they contingency be intelligent, contingency break down in to parts things. You do not go in to a nation usually to envoy, you go there to observe, to see what they have been doing. Then you report behind to a home country. They contingency be correct as good as up to date. Yes ,diplomats can ! be train ed, but they contingency be fightersI have no regrets seeking back, no regrets all. So it remains.We should keep creation friendsit works." (Recollections by Muhammad Ghazali garbage bin Shafie in Number One Wisma Putra, edited by Fauziah Mohamad Taib, 2006, Institute of Diplomacy as good as Foreign Relations)
These were a final difference of King Ghaz for his successors similar to Anifah Aman, a Foreign Ministry to recollect as good as action upon. Wisma Putra is a critical place given a pursuit of tact is both severe as good as perfectionist of those who right away take up Number One Wisma Putra.
The message in my Blog is clear a open has become discerning as good as some-more demanding.
Wisma Putra competence think which Malaysians have usually medium knowledge of general affairs, but readers of this Blog have shown they possess an substantial grasp of universe affairs as good as a complexities as good as have sophisticated views upon a broad range of general issues. Don't blink a people as good as my readers.
Aside this, officers during Wisma Putra know really good which Radzi is not an zealous reader, nonetheless in this STAR essay he quotes an obscure poet. He is additionally lustful of telling his colleagues as good as friends who insinuate to him about complaints against Wisma Putra which he had not listened any.
My indicate is which a responses of readers to a Blog paint a cross-section of a wordless infancy of a Malaysian public, who yearn to be informed upon unfa! miliar p rocess issues as good as tact as good as how they impact upon Malaysia's image, contentment as good as confidence (national interest).
Radzi's shallow essay in The Star usually worsens open notice of a critical decrease in a Ministry's egghead capital as good as leadership.
I am done to assimilate which Wisma Putra has recently created a "Special Speech Writing Committee" comprising of 27 officers. If Radzi's essay as good as a Foreign Minister new debate have been a producst of this committee, afterwards a rot is really deeply embedded indeed.
And FM Anifah speech! It is a fifth grader stuff to a tactful armed forces upon January 5 this year in Kuala Lumpur. He talked of a importance of a neighbours as good as ASEAN. What substantively has a Minister done in which direction, you wonder? As you far as you know, Indonesia as good as Singapore with tip flight Foreign Ministers have been providing a much needed meditative upon ASEAN, whilst you sojourn content to fool around along.
Since you mostly say which ASEAN is a cornerstone of a unfamiliar policy, a Foreign Minister could have used a event to go over general as good as banal statements about a support for ASEAN Community,and go in to a little details how a open as good as a universe can good from further ASEAN integration in terms of a regional economy, business, education, culture, etc.
Similarly, a Foreign Minister could have selected any series of issues inspiring a nation as good as a segment as good as how a government was traffic with them so as to ensure a a seductiveness of a nation as good 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 Cambodia as good as a Singapore Foreign Ministry organized a Roundtable in Phnom Penh to brainstorm upon Cambodia's 2012 chairmanship of ASEAN. Singapore's FM Shanmugan as good as a Ambassador t! here exp erience in a discussion. They were both articulate, enchanting as good as impressive.
And right away you read of a initial ever central revisit of President Thein Sein of Myanmar to Singapore to find out a city state's substantial imagination upon inhabitant development, together with banking as good as finance. Worse still, President Aquino has nonetheless to compensate an central revisit to Malaysia. Why -???
What have a Ambassadors in Phnom Penh, Yangon as good as Manila, let alone Wisma Putra been doing?
There have additionally been complaints from readers upon a recruitment of diplomats as good as their proficiency in English. you contingency concur which a criticism is a stream one. This problem, however, goes behind to a days when Tun Ahmad Sarji (left), who was a Chief Secretary to a Government during a Mahathir era.
Going behind to a aged Wisma Putra, whose carrier diplomats were asked to fill up a posts of Secretaries General of a Ministries of Finance (Tan Sri Zain Azahari) as good as Youth as good as Sports (Datuk Jamaluddin Abu Bakar), Ahmad Sarji, substantially with a most appropriate of intentions, sent to Wisma Putra scores as good as scores of half-baked UKM as good as USM graduates in a late 197os as good as 1980s to shore up a ranks of a diplomats.
Secondly, today, there is nonetheless an additional big complaint among officers is which each thing contingency be created in Malay, reports, minutes, as good as so on. Wisma Putra officers given a 1970s write in Malay to outward agencies. This new development is assumingly as a result of a no-brainer directive from a stream Chief Secretary to a Government.
Internal reports, minutes, minutes, jot down of conversations as good as alternative forms of communications have been necessar! y collec tion of a diplomat. By depriving them a chance to file in their skills to make use of English, a language of tact as good as business, how can you design to perform them good when it comes to representing a nation in a genuine world? It is similar to asking a solders to train with plastic rifles as good as design them to quarrel effectively using genuine weapons in a war.
Another reader, "Ir.Somdol", substantially a surrogate, attempted to urge Radzi by claiming which no a single during Wisma Putra has ever listened of 'Din Merican', implying which you was articulate out of my hat. Never mind, Samdol could usually have left to my webpage to know some-more about me. Again, you am not a emanate here. The fast as good as almost unstoppable deterioration in a standards of professionalism in Wisma Putra is.
Just for Samdol's further information, Khalid Yaacob (now Tun as good as Governor of Malacca), Tan Sri Kamil Jaafar, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, Dato Majid Mohamad, as good as Tan Sri Mohamed Khatib as good as a host of others used to live during 272 Jalan Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur when you were all during Wisma Putra in a early 1960s. They had renowned careers in Wisma Putra, whilst you left for a private sector.
All a upon top of matters have been in truth worrying, prompting me to coop this essay for a attention of both Foreign Minister Anifah Aman as good as a Secretary General Radzi Abdul Rahman.
The Foreign Minister as good as a Secretary -General contingency be endangered with crafting unfamiliar process which secures Malaysia's interests in a world, which is creation as good as winning friends.
And my readers wish to listen to some-more upon Wisma Putra's core commercial operation unfamiliar policy, a involvement in ASEAN as good as relations with actors in general affair! s.
< p>The Secretary General's as good as a Minister's debate mount out as justification of a absence of strategic meditative during Wisma Putra. It is regrettable a Prime Minister is assumingly unmotivated about a rot which has set in Wisma Putra. It is, however, some-more likely which Najib has no confidence in a Foreign Ministry, relying in stead upon a advice of former diplomats, as good as his own Foreign Policy team upon a Fourth Floor, Prime Minister's Department, Putrjaya. So Wisma Putra is usually a Post Office with overpaid workers.In my view, a Prime Minister is entitled to a most appropriate process advice which a good Foreign Office can provide. The means which Wisma Putra contingency be all revamped as good as staffed by qualified, carefully selected as good as good lerned professionals with a passion for general affairs as good as diplomacy. Wisma Putra is a place for johnny come lately types.
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