PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says it is premature for the government to decide on whether to approve conservative political commentator Nick Adams as the next US ambassador to Malaysia.
Anwar said Putrajaya is following the proper protocol in considering foreign ambassadorial appointments.
“It is still too early (to decide),” he told reporters after Friday prayers here.
“Of course, the government will give it due consideration. At the same time, we will maintain good relations between Malaysia and the US.”
US president Donald Trump has nominated Adams as Washington’s new ambassador to Malaysia. His nomination will need to be confirmed by the US senate before he can assume the role.
While no date has been set for the senate vote, Adams is expected to be approved as the Republican-held Senate has backed every Trump nominee since he became president in January.
Adams’s nomination has faced opposition from former law minister Zaid Ibrahim and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who said Malaysia had every right under the Vienna Convention to reject the appointment without providing a reason.
Zaid described Adams as a “right-wing agitator and partisan provocateur” who is unfit to serve as a US ambassador because of his lack of diplomatic credentials.
Adams previously criticised alleged efforts to “teach Islam in schools”. Known to be a staunch supporter of Israel, he has said that those who expressed solidarity with Palestinians supported terrorism.
Selangor PAS Youth chief Sukri Omar said accepting Adams’s nomination will be seen as an insult to the country’s Muslim community and the Malaysians who support Palestine.
PKR Youth today submitted a memorandum of protest to the US embassy over the nomination.
