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MALAYSIAN DIPLOMATS: OUR STORIES

Independence in 2002. It was the youngest nation then having fought a
war of independence from Indonesia for 27 years. T e freedom f ghter José
Alexandre Kay Rala “Xanana Gusmao’’ became its f rst President. For a
country that is young, it boasts two Nobel Peace Laureates – Jose Ramos
Horta, the Timorese Foreign Minister, and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes
Belo, the Archbishop of Dili. I have not visited Timor-Leste since I left in
2006 and would love to do so soon. My stint in Timor-Leste was penned in
the Number One Wisma Putra book published by IDFR in 2006, titled From
the Ashes, a New Nation Reborn.

Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste erupted into civil unrest a month after my
departure, a rather similar event when I left Sana’a, Yemen.

T e Republic of Yemen
My last ambassadorial posting before retirement was to the Republic of
Yemen in 2012.

Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited
cities in the world. T e old city Sana’a is a magnif cent and historical tribute
to the glory of Yemen and is now a UNESCO Heritage site. T ere are many
UNESCO Heritage sites in Yemen including the ancient Great Mosque of
Sana’a, one of the oldest mosques in the world. It was built at the behest of
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in 633 AD. In Hadramawt, one is amazed to
see the sixth century mud scraper city of Shibam made of mud bricks, also
known as the “Manhattan of the Desert”. Like Sana’a, Shibam is one of the
longest living city located at an important ancient trade route.

Yemen was my f rst and only Middle East posting. I presented my credentials
to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi of the “new” Yemen after the fall of
President Ali Abdullah Salleh. He was a casualty of the Arab Spring in 2011.

I had a three-storey bungalow all to myself as my family was not with me.
I called it my “Fortress of Solitude” where I am surrounded by a f fteen
foot high wall inside all alone and outside from the neighbourhood. I had
security escorts everywhere I went which I thought was unnecessary. Except
for of cial functions, I would occasionally venture out on my own and never
felt unsafe as many Yemenis are fond of Malaysia, especially of our former

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