PETALING JAYA: A former Wisma Putra official has professed puzzlement over the US ambassador’s statement that Washington’s ties with Putrajaya are better now than they were a decade ago.
“Is he implying that Malaysia-US relations back then were not good and that his predecessors failed to do their job?” he said, referring to a news item quoting the ambassador, Brian McFeeters.
Speaking to FMT but declining to be named, the former senior official said he welcomed McFeeters’ second stint as ambassador to Malaysia, but added that his comments, which appeared in a local paper on Sunday, had “sent mixed signals to those who follow international relations closely”.
He said both the Obama and Trump administrations worked well with Putrajaya when they were in power.
Obama visited Malaysia for a state visit in 2014 and attended the East Asia Summit in 2015. Malaysia also received three secretaries of state – Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Rex Tillerson – during the period.
The official said that such visits were a testament to the excellent state of relations between the two countries.
He also noted that former prime minister Najib Razak and former foreign minister Anifah Aman met Donald Trump at the White House in 2016.
He added that there were at the time many Malaysia-US bilateral initiatives, such as in trade and education.
In the interview with the local daily, McFeeters said: “We have excellent relations with the foreign ministry. Compared to 10 years ago, it’s much better.”
Commenting on the appointment of foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein as a senior minister, McFeeters said he hoped there would be “people around him who can help with all those duties”.
Hishammuddin has been appointed as senior minister in charge of the security cluster and assisting the prime minister with the national recovery plan.
The former official said he wondered whether McFeeters was implying that Wisma Putra had no capable officers and staff to support Hishammuddin.
He expressed hope that the good bilateral relation between Malaysia and the US would continue, especially in the current challenging times.
“The global pandemic has affected all nations and I do hope that despite the pandemic, our ties will continue,” he said. - FMT
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