Sadly, the gains by the opposition parties in the recent elections have been construed by Concerned Malaysian ( The return of the tainted ambassador? ) as a license to spread malicious lies that hurt the reputation of one of Malaysia's finest diplomats and tarnish the image of the Malaysian foreign service. Indeed, the article is replete with vicious lies and untruths, and below are two examples:

1. The statement that "Ghazzali (Sheikh Abdul Khalid) was apparently saved from being prosecuted by virtue of his diplomatic immunity," is particularly vicious. There was never any suggestion that Jack Abramoff himself engaged in illegal acts on behalf of Malaysia. Similarly, there was never any suggestion, by anyone, that Ghazzali had engaged in wrongdoings under US laws, and there was never any thought given to bringing criminal charges against him.

Nothing of this sort can be found in the final report issued by the Senate Committee empanelled to investigate the Abramoff illicit activities. Indeed, if the United States believed that Ghazzali had done anything unlawful, it would have immediately expelled him as persona non grata, his immunity status notwithstanding.

2 The statements that "…it was during Ghazzali's tenure as ambassador that the Malaysian Embassy was involved in organising perjured evidence from a limousine driver at the trial of Anwar Ibrahim" and that "Ghazzali was also an active participant in besmearing Anwar's reputation in the US" are equally vicious. No facts are presented to support these statements.

More importantly, the alleged incident occurred before Ghazzali's tenure in Washington. His position on the Anwar affair was clear and consistent: The charges against Anwar were a matter for the Malaysian courts, and that the courts could be counted upon to render a just verdict. This turned out to be exactly the right approach.

While a civil society like ours welcomes public expression of ideas, it does not excuse false statements motivated by a malicious desire to harm the reputation of others. Nor does our legal system tolerate such conduct.