Yee's daughter set for role as envoy
Published on: Monday, September 15, 2014
Kota Kinabalu: At least another Sabahan - and a lady at that - is assured of being appointed as diplomat soon.Yee Tsai Siew, the eldest child of former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai and Datin Vicky Yee, is willing to serve the nation in any of the 109 Malaysian Missions abroad.The former SM Tshung Tsin student and Cardiff University law graduate recently completed two diplomatic training courses at Wisma Putra, paving the way for her first assignment as Ambassador or High Commissioner.
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Both the elder Yees are also Cardiff law graduates. High Commissioner is the term accorded to those serving in Commonwealth member countries while those serving outside of it are known as ambassadors.She was the only Sabahan among the 32 new foreign service officers who graduated with a Diploma in Diplomacy (DiD) early this month. They are young Administrative and Diplomatic Officers (PTDs) serving in the Ministry. She graduated with Distinction.
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"Serving in the Foreign Ministry will provide me the opportunity to defend the country's national interests and promote the good image of the nation at any international platform."I love the idea of doing something for my country and to give back to my country," said Yee, who turns 29 next week. Yee also won a special award for being one of the five Top Performers for the United Nations Security Council Simulation.
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On where she would like to serve, she said: "I am open to any posting, regardless of destination. Irrespective of wherever I go to, it is bound to be a good training-ground for me as there will be new lessons, experiences and knowledge for me to pick up from.""I am very pleased with where I am today. I have the love and support from my loved ones. And I have had very good local and foreign seasoned diplomats and senior officers who guided me the past five and a half years."There is so much more to learn and get exposed. I very much look forward to the journey ahead."She and 15 others completed their attachment to the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra, Australia. The rest (16) completed theirs in the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.Like her parents, she was also called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, UK, at the end of 2008. "When I returned to KK, there was a public diplomacy road show organised by the Foreign Ministry. I was encouraged by my parents to find out what diplomacy was all about."Perhaps they spotted something in their daughter that I myself was not aware of then. I met and spoke to senior officers at the roadshow and instantly got attracted to the nature of the work, and was confident. The rest is history," she recalled. Yee noted that lady diplomats are a rare breed in the country."In fact, there are even fewer East Malaysians in this field. Needless to say, there are only a handful of female East Malaysian representatives in the Malaysian Foreign Service."She urged Sabahans interested in the Foreign Service, to take up the challenge.Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin graced the DiD graduation ceremony at Marriott Hotel Putrajaya.According to Hamzah, the DiD course was the first in-house diploma course conducted in Malaysia by the IDFR of the Foreign Ministry."The main thrust of the DiD programme is to prepare aspiring Malaysian diplomats by enhancing their knowledge in diplomacy, foreign relations prior to their assignments abroad," he said.Last month, Yee was also among 800 Administrative and Diplomatic Officers (PTDs) who formally graduated with a Diploma in Public Administration (DPA).Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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