New ambassadors reminded of uphill task of protecting Malaysia's image

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia's newly appointed ambassadors have been reminded of the challenging tasks that lie ahead of them in protecting the country's image abroad.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the country's image has taken a beating following the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
In a meeting with the ten new ambassadors at his office in Perdana Putra here, Ahmad Zahid stressed the importance of protecting the country's image following the incident earlier this month.
He also urged the ambassadors to promote Malaysia as the world's trusted authority in the issuance of halal certificates.
The ten ambassadors had received their letters of appointment from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V in a ceremony at Istana Negara on Feb 21.
The newly minted ambassadors are Syed Md Hasrin Tengku Hussin @ Syed Hussin (United Arab Emirates), Zainal Abidin Bakar (Spain), Datuk Rustam Yahaya (Iran), Cheong Loon Lai (Hungary), Datuk Hidayat Abdul Hamid (India) and Anizan @ Siti Hajjar Adnin (Ireland), Mohd Aini Atan (Laos), Syed Mohamad Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman (Kazakhstan), Datuk Mohd Khalid Abbasi Abdul Razak (Argentina) and Agus Salim Yusof (Bahrain).