COMMENT | Hamzah Zainudin’s recent insulting inference of a foreign dignitary’s unfamiliarity with ongoing bilateral negotiations warrants a public apology and the home minister will do well to remember that pride comes before a fall.

His rude manner was very undiplomatic, and the Malaysian government should be lucky our neighbours are not considering a more serious course of action in response to Hamzah’s unwarranted criticism of a diplomatic representative of their state.

Hamzah’s contempt for accountability was on full display when he was asked to respond to the statement by the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono in Malaysiakini on Feb 7.

In his statement, Hermono had revealed that Indonesia was losing confidence that the domestic worker memorandum of understanding (MOU) clauses would not be implemented by all relevant government agencies, especially because the Home Ministry was absent from discussions.

In his frosty retort, Hamzah tried to...