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MALAYSIAN DIPLOMATS: OUR STORIES

After fulf lling the necessary diplomatic ritual, Ahmad was waiting for me as I
exited the front door of the embassy, albeit with some trepidation. However,
to my surprise, the once hostile-looking crowd waved us past with lots of
smile as we exited the narrow street into the main boulevard on the way back
to our embassy. T e experience became a favorite conversation topic among
friends and colleagues at diplomatic gatherings for the next few days.

To be sure, for me personally, the unfortunate encounter had its moments
of nervous apprehension, especially when the crowd turned menacing and
mob-like. T e night-mare vision of both Ahmad and I being pulled out of
the car and manhandled by an armed mob-like crowd because of a mistaken
identity did race through my head during those brief anxious moments.
T e fact that it did not happen, and that the incident eventually ended on a
happy note was indeed a great relief. But if there is one positive lesson that I
had learned from the whole episode, it was the feeling of pride that Malaysia’s
proactive role in promoting Islam at the national and international levels did
gain valuable returns on its investment. In this particular case, Malaysia’s
‘Islamic diplomacy’ did help to save the day for both Ahmad and I when it
was most needed.

Dato’ Dr. Mohd Yusof Ahmad served in various capacities at several Malaysian missions
abroad, including as second secretary/charge d’af aires at the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran,
Iran, from 1978 to 1980. He was Director General of IDFR from 2002 to 2004.

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