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PMO: Hadi to continue as Special Envoy to the Middle East

The new cabinet has agreed to reappoint PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang as Malaysia’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, said the Prime Minister’s Office.

In a short media statement, the office announced that Progressive Democratic Party president Tiong King Sing and Serian MP Richard Riot, who is with Sarawak United People’s Party, are also reappointed as the Prime Minister’s special envoys to China and East Asia, respectively.

“The first cabinet meeting held on Sept 1 has agreed to continue the appointment of Abdul Hadi Awang as the Special Envoy to the Middle East, Tiong King Sing as the Special Envoy to China, and Richard Riot as the Special Envoy to East Asia,” the statement said.

All three politicians, who are also MPs, were appointed to the same positions, which come with ministerial rank, last year by the then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

It is understood that when Muhyiddin resigned last month, all cabinet members and special envoy appointees that were made in his capacity as the country’s top executive also resigned.

Muhyiddin was replaced by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was sworn in as Malaysia’s ninth Prime Minister on Aug 22, after securing a simple majority in Parliament from 114 MPs.

A Special Envoy is usually an individual that is appointed by the serving prime minister with the aim of strengthening ties between Malaysia and any particular country or region where the envoy is sent to.



However, in some instances, appointments of special envoys are also seen as a move to reward certain politicians with the high-ranking position and perks that come with it.

Besides Hadi, Tiong and Riot, other politicians who have been made a special envoy previously include former MIC president S Samy Vellu (Special Envoy to India and South Asia), former MCA president Ong Ka Ting (Special Envoy to China), and the late Jamaluddin Jarjis from Umno (Special Envoy to the United States).

Tan Kok Wai, who is the DAP MP for Cheras, was appointed as a Special Envoy to China during Pakatan Harapan’s time as the federal government.

Another individual who has previously been appointed as a special envoy was Khalid Abu Bakar, a former inspector-general of police, but he was not assigned to any specific region.

Instead, Khalid was made a special envoy for combating terrorism, extremism and human trafficking in 2017.