KUALA LUMPUR – Former Malaysian ambassador to the United States, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, revealed that he had once turned the tables on the US State Department, schooling its officials on proper diplomatic protocol and reinforcing Malaysia’s firm stance on Israel.
Speaking on Scoop’s Trick Lama podcast recently, Nazri recounted being summoned by the US State Department on October 7, 2023, the same day Hamas launched its attack on Israel.
He questioned the necessity of the call, given that Malaysia does not recognise Israel and has no diplomatic ties with the country.
“I had a peaceful time from March to October 7th, then there was a phone call from the State Department saying I had to stand by at 3pm because they were going to call me,” he said.
Nazri revealed that US officials sought to “school” him on Malaysia’s position following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks in support of Hamas. However, he made it clear that he was not there to take instructions.
“I was ignorant, so I asked for the right to respond because what they were schooling me on was unfair,” he said.
“The first thing I told them when they said yes was, ‘I’m the Malaysian ambassador to the United States of America; Israel is not in the equation.’”
Reiterating Malaysia’s long-standing policy of non-recognition towards Israel, Nazri asserted that his role was to manage Malaysia-US relations, not to relay messages regarding a country with which Malaysia has no diplomatic relations.
Nazri also questioned why he was being summoned while the US ambassador in Kuala Lumpur faced no such scrutiny over America’s staunch support for Israel.
“‘Kurang ajar,’ right? But it was factual,” he said. “I also replied and said I cannot convey this message to Kuala Lumpur because I’m not your ambassador. You have an ambassador in Kuala Lumpur; you ask him to relay this message.”
He explained that relaying Washington’s message himself would have put his credibility at risk in Malaysia.
“Can you imagine if I had relayed the message? People would say, ‘This Nazri, the former (Umno) Youth chief, is relaying America’s message.’ I don’t want that. Maybe then I can’t come back to Malaysia.”
Instead, he insisted that the US officials direct their concerns through the proper channels, making it clear that they had engaged the wrong person.
“I replied in a proper way. I wasn’t angry. I just told them nicely, I can’t convey this message because I am not your ambassador. You have an ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, you tell him to convey the message.”
Nazri, a political appointee rather than a career diplomat, recently completed his two-year tenure as Malaysia’s envoy to Washington and has since returned to Malaysia.
A veteran Umno leader who has held multiple ministerial portfolios, he is known for his forthright style and unwillingness to be pressured, even in the realm of international diplomacy. – March 2, 2025