Nazri completes US envoy stint, returning to ‘help Anwar face GE16’

FMT:

 

Nazri completes US envoy

stint, returning to ‘help

Anwar face GE16’

Anne Muhammad

-07 Feb 2025, 03:54 PM

The former six-term MP denies claims that he has been recalled by Putrajaya and says he would have rejected an extension if offered.

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Former Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz has been Malaysia’s ambassador to the US since Feb 9, 2023.

PETALING JAYA: 

Former Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz, who completes his two-year stint as Malaysia’s ambassador to the US tomorrow, says he wants to return to Malaysia to help Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim prepare for the next general election.

Denying claims that he had been recalled from the US by Putrajaya, the Umno man said he would have rejected an extension to his ambassadorship if offered.

“I can’t (accept that) because I want to help the prime minister. (If the contract is extended for two more years) I would be in the US until 2027 (and) GE16 would have already passed.

“I don’t care about anyone else and will just help (Anwar). But I won’t be contesting (in GE16),” he told FMT.

The former Umno Supreme Council member said he was only appointed as the ambassador to the US for two years as he was a political appointee, not a career diplomat.

“I have made preparations to return to Malaysia on Feb 14, which would be a week before my visa expires,” he said.

Nazri has held the post since Feb 9, 2023. The former six-term MP had served as legal affairs minister, among other portfolios, in the past.

He drew criticism for attending a Republican rally for US president Donald Trump in Washington DC and holding up a “Make America Great Again” placard.