IPOH: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal calling Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's visit to Saudi Arabia a failure shows he does not understand the basics of diplomacy in international relations.
MCA International Communication and Diplomacy deputy chairman Neow Choo Seong said Wan Ahmad Fayhsal was unfamiliar with or pretended not to understand the issue.
"As a former diplomat who has served the Foreign Ministry for 13 years, I consider the opposition's accusations to be political and an attempt to undermine the government's credibility without solid reasoning. This is a very irresponsible and unpatriotic act.
"Clearly, the prime minister's official visit to Saudi Arabia was upon the invitation of the government of the country.
"In addition, the prime minister was accorded full guest status by the Saudi government with amenities and services provided throughout the visit.
"Moreover, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir had also made a working visit to Saudi Arabia.
"Hence, there is no doubt that every detail has been carefully planned ahead of the PM's arrival," he said in a statement today.
He was responding to Wan Ahmad Fayhsal's statement disputing the success of Anwar's official visit to Saudi Arabia.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal had said the visit was a failure because Anwar did not meet King Salman Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed Salman Abdul Aziz Al-Saud during the visit.
Neow said as part of the opposition, Perikatan Nasional had the right to criticise and comment on the government's policies based on the principle of checks and balances under the democratic system.
"However, every piece of statement or criticism should be professional and objective.
"The opposition should not be releasing statements which are not factual to influence the rakyat's perception or play up issues that can jeopardise the diplomatic relationship between Malaysia and other nations.
"If he is still not convinced, I urge him to refer to former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former foreign minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah in the opposition bloc. They are both experts who are cognisant of the real situation."
On a separate matter, Neow urged the government to increase the allocation for Wisma Putra and strengthen its position as the "diplomatic outpost" of Malaysia Madani.
"As a former diplomat, I am concerned for the Foreign Ministry, hence, I propose that the unity government increase the allocation for the ministry to reinforce the direction of Malaysia's foreign policies.
"If we consider the national budget which was tabled in Parliament recently, with the RM971 million allocation for the ministry, it is quite difficult for the ministry and its 105 representative offices abroad to operate effectively.
"Besides that, the devaluation of the ringgit in many countries and global inflation also makes it difficult for diplomats to carry out their assignment to promote Malaysia and strengthen ties with other countries."
