ID :
281336
Tue, 04/16/2013 - 05:59
Auther :

Tan Bids Adieu to Diplomatic Services

By M. Saraswathi NEW DELHI, April 16 (Bernama) -- Tan Seng Sung, the Malaysian High Commissioner to India (left), has bid adieu to the foreign service, after serving 35 years. This seasoned diplomat had worn many hats, including as the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Malaysia's first ambassador to Kazakhstan. He had rubbed shoulders with presidents, prime ministers and people of fame, yet in the same vocation he had sheltered the lost and fed the hungry and provided a helping hand to Malaysians stranded in foreign lands, or struck by tragedies. Tan, 'the boy from Banting', as he is fondly referred to, took time off from his busy schedule of bidding farewell to share some of the memorable moments he had as a diplomat with Bernama’s correspondent in New Delhi. Tan officially retires on April 15 and is returning home for good. A DIPLOMAT’S LIFE "Interest in knowing another’s culture and constant hunger for knowledge came handy with my job as diplomat," said Tan, who joined the diplomatic service in 1978. Tan, whose first foreign posting in 1982 took him to New Zealand as the second secretary of the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington, comes from an era where typewriters and faxes dominated diplomacy. "Those days you could be very slow to get the message across and things don’t develop so fast. However, now things move with just a click of the mouse button, one has to be fast in terms of work and in advising the government on issues." As Internet revolutionised diplomacy, Tan said his transition to ICT was not not difficult but was psychologically challenging. MALAYSIANS ABOARD Malaysians abroad who have crossed paths with Tan during their short term or long term stay there would definitely recall his standard question, "Are you registered with us?" Tan believes that it is important for Malaysians to be registered with their respective missions not only for a head count but also to keep Malaysians together even in a foreign land. By this way it is easier to be in touch, especially in countries prone to earthquake, terrorist attacks or riots where the mission needs to know if Malaysians are affected or in need of help. "In such situation, we can track them down. It will be easier for us to help them, and they should be able to contact us too, he said. Moreover, Malaysians in foreign land can be the eyes and ears feeding information when the need arises. "We are actually very sensitive towards the welfare of our citizens. I have seen missions who do not care about their citizens. The Malaysian government is very sensitive on how the missions overseas treat its citizens," he said. GOING BEYOND DUTY "People always appreciate when we go an extra mile to help," he recalled pointing to the many instances at how the High Commission in New Delhi had helped people on humanitarian grounds. "There was this guy who lost his passport and decided to walk back to Malaysia but could not cross over to Myanmar as he did not have a valid travel document. Somehow, he found his way back to Delhi. "We found him sitting outside the High Commission in a pathetic condition with his dirty clothes, with the only document that he had with him being the school leaving certificate. I provided him clothes and food and let him stay in the servant's quarters," he said. The High Commission managed to get his details and after a three-month wait, his exit visa was approved and he was sent back to Malaysia. "I gave him some pocket money too," said Tan. THE FAMILIAR AND THE ODD CASES In another incident there was a guy whose visa had expired and was detained in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh for overstaying. "We were not informed by the authorities but came to know about him through an e-mail from an Australian. When he arrived at the High Commission, he was so skinny," he said. The mission managed to get through his details with the help of the Election Commission's database and the Royal Malaysian Police, and his brother sent some money to fly him back to Malaysia. Tan noted that the High Commission had also addressed unique predicaments faced by Malaysians. The latest one being a Malaysian studying in India, who had come to receive an award in New Delhi. "Her parents called me up and asked if she could stay with me. They were afraid to let her stay in hotels after the Dec 16 gang rape incident. In situations like this, we should be open and do more than what is expected from us," he said. TAN'S BAPTISM OF FIRE Yet despite the glitter and protocol that comes with the job, there were tumultuous events too. He recalled that during his posting in Hong Kong as the first secretary in 1990, the mission was intimidated after eight Hong Kong residents were given death penalty in Malaysia for drug trafficking. "We received threatening messages, but I was not scared as the Hong Kong authorities provided appropriate security." Also, Tan and his team in the mission were put through a baptism of fire after an oil rig with 100 Malaysian workers capsized in the South China Sea. It was the most challenging time for Tan and the mission's immediate reaction was to set up an operations room to handle the emergency. "We had to answer queries from relatives. Many of them were from Sarawak (eastern Malaysia state) and some of the victims' spouses had arrived in Hong Kong. Because we had an operations room, people as far as New Zealand also started calling us," he said. The mission was able to give updates with the help of the Hong Kong government, he said. "In Geneva, the work was different. As a representative to the United Nations we had to stand up and answer for human right issues. My best tour of duty was in Geneva and India, the former in a multilateral role and the latter bilateral," he said. MALAYSIA-INDIA BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP Tan leaves the diplomatic service after completing a five-year stint as the High Commissioner to India at a time when Malaysia-India bilateral relations have seen tremendous positive developments. Bilateral trade recorded an all time high of US$13.33 billion in 2012, a 7.3 per cent increase compared to 2011, with Malaysia approving a total of 110 manufacturing projects with Indian participation worth US$1.19 billion. These projects have created 14,240 jobs for Malaysians, said Tan. "I have the satisfaction of seeing the bilateral relations with India improve so much. A lot of hard work and effort went into it," he said. TAN'S POST-RETIREMENT PLANS As for his retirement plan, the father of two daughters and a son said: "I want to be with my children and grandchildren." "For me, family is very important. I was lucky to have an empathising spouse due to the nature of my work. "In places like Geneva, I am very grateful to my wife Julia for taking care of the family while I was away," he said, referring to his posting as the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland from 1992-1998. As for Tan, it has been a pleasurable and meaningful outing with Malaysia's foreign service. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA

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