Pakatan Rakyat has called on Foreign Minister Anifah Aman to resign over alleged dereliction of duties and failing to handle foreign affairs properly.
DAP international secretary Liew Chin Tong said today the Pakatan secretariat that met last night unanimously agreed that Anifah was not up to the job.
Liew said talk within diplomatic circles was that Anifah preferred ambassadors to meet him in his home state of Sabah instead of in the federal capital Kuala Lumpur.
“He is hiding in Kota Kinabalu and even required the Chinese ambassador to meet him there,” he told a press conference today.
Liew (left) said that Malaysia, unlike before, had failed to assert its position in important international matters such as the Syrian conflict or to address the problems faced by the Rohingyas and the Palestinian community.
“Compare this to when Anwar Ibrahim was in the cabinet, when we actively participated in the resolution of the Bosnian conflict in the Balkans,” Liew said.
He also referred to an article in The Star written by former diplomat Dennis Ignatius, complaining about the state of Malaysia’s foreign affairs, where said, “Wisma Putra no longer has the capacity to provide sound strategic advice to the government.”
Liew added: “Many ambassadors have also called for a more hands-on foreign minister,” he said.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua said Anifah has proven himself to be an ineffective foreign minister for playing a poor role in the dispute over the Spratly Islands and other disputes with the Phillippines.
“Maybe it is necessary for the prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to take over the foreign affairs ministry and replacing Anifah as (the premier himself has to attend) the Organisation of Islamic Conference to resolve the Syrian conflict,” he said.
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