Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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(Sept 29):  Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman yesterday condemned his cabinet colleagues who “interfered” in Wisma Putra’s decision to summon China’s ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Huang Huikang.

He said it was common practice for his ministry to summon ambassadors, and did not merit interference from the rest of the Cabinet.

“This issue could have been solved amicably by Wisma Putra, without any interference from other ministers.

“Their meddling has created negative perception in the eyes of the public,” said Anifah in a statement last night.

He said he was saddened that several ministers had “taken action and made statements to the press” without consulting him.

He also clarified that he had never revoked his orders to summon Huang to explain the comments the latter made during a visit? to Petaling Street last Friday.

Yesterday, the vernacular press reported that acting foreign affairs minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin had overturned the call for the meeting with Huang, which they reported was issued by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Naina Merican.

Malaysiakini had reported Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz as saying that Reezal had breached protocol when he allegedly summoned Huang to Wisma Putra.

However, Reezal told The Malaysian Insider that the order came from Anifah.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaludin had also reportedly weighed in on the matter, saying Malaysia must send a signal to other countries not to meddle in its affairs.

But Anifah said the issue should not have concerned other ministries, as it was usually handled by Wisma Putra’s senior officers.

“I want to explain that summoning the Chinese ambassador to Wisma Putra is a normal practice,” said Anifah.

“The purpose was to request an explanation from him over the statements he made during his visit to Petaling Street the other day.

“Wisma Putra only wanted him to confirm whether his comments had been misinterpreted or otherwise.”

He said such a practice was in line with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.

He added that Wisma Putra had in the past summoned the American ambassador, the Vatican ambassador and the Singaporean ambassador to a meeting.

“As a sovereign country, we must also convey our stance to China clearly.

“I discussed this with the prime minister and decided to summon the Chinese ambassador to Wisma Putra to provide his explanation,” said Anifah.

Huang met Hamzah yesterday at 12.20pm.

Huang courted controversy when he visited Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown on Friday, where he reportedly said Beijing was opposed to terrorism, extremism and any form of discrimination based on race. – The Malaysian Insider

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