THE Foreign Affairs Ministry should clarify a recent pledge by Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to help the Taliban-run Afghanistan with humanitarian and economic assistance, including aid to redevelop the country, said a former ambassador.
According to Dennis Ignatius, based on past practices a Cabinet decision was not required when the Government made such donations although it still required the Prime Minister’s written approval.
“To avoid confusion, I think Wisma Putra should issue a statement to clarify the situation,” he was reported as saying by news portal FMT.
“Special envoys do not have the authority to make such donations without reference to the prime minister’s office.”
Ignatius said this in response to news reports on Friday (Feb 4) that assurance was given by Abdul Hadi, Malaysia’s special envoy to the Middle East to help the Afghan government.
Abdul Hadi’s office said in a statement on Facebook that he was on a four-day visit to Qatar to work with the country in redeveloping Afghanistan, which included coordination of humanitarian aid and to strengthen Malaysia’s ties with Qatar.
On this matter, Ignatius further remarked that recognition of the Taliban regime should be kept separate from the need to provide urgent humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan.
He noted that Malaysia must do whatever it can to help the country which is facing a catastrophic crisis.
“So I applaud the decision to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan via the United Nations (UN),” he said, further expressing hope that Putrajaya would join other governments in their insistence that the Taliban regime would respect its people’s human rights.
The regime cannot go back to its “backwards, brutal and barbaric ways of the past”, he added.
However, Ignatius went on to note that the responsibility ought to be left to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, saying that he was not sure that Abdul Hadi – given his skewered worldview – was the best person to accomplish this mission. – Feb 10, 2022
