bed of roses

being a spouse to a diplomat doesn't mean that life is always a bed of roses. in reality, one is more susceptible to unscrupulous individuals that may take every opportunity they have to politicize any issues for their own political interests. globalization and the advancement of IT unfortunately exposes diplomats and their spouses to an ever more dangerous and challenging world. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and the like no doubt can be very effective in building diplomatic relationship. on the flip side however, these cutting age technologies are easily hacked and abused by irresponsible individuals. if not handle carefully, any mistake may not only severely damage any diplomat's reputation, but also and most worrying lead to chaotic international relation and bilateral cooperation between countries. aside, rumors, any bias remarks or negative statements can be potentially fatal to a diplomat's esteem career.

there have been real cases of diplomats become the scapegoat and victims in the history of diplomatic service. the latest slander on the spouse of the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Republic of the Philippines over her tweet shows how the lack of sensitivity and integrity may cause unnecessary seeds of suspicion, prejudice and hatred. (refer to Leave Dato Zainab Alone at "http://www.mindanaoan.com vying for attention and support, irresponsible individuals would be willing to do anything so long they could achieve their agenda. in fact, the quest for power and glory could be above the nation's interest. What happened is truly an unnecessary tragedy. nevertheless, this very unfortunate incident perhaps serve as a timely reminder to all the members of diplomatic corps and their spouses on the importance of being extra vigilant in whatever remarks or activities they do as they will obviously be continuously scrutinized and targeted. diplomats and their spouses must be ethically conscious at all times and remember that their words and actions regardless intentionally said and done or not, will reflect the country they represent. Yes, sometimes, certain acts or opinions could be rather very personal, yet, they would be naturally perceived as representing the whole embassy and the country one belongs to. as twitter, Facebook and the like are obviously so public, it is best for diplomats and their spouses to refrain themselves from using vulgar language, making satirical remarks, offering his or her private thought or even displaying bias particularly in matters involving different nations.

though other than simple tweets, the highly spirited ambassador's wife has diplomatically and gracefully chooses to let the public find out the truth themselves, the fabricated and unverified news spin so fast on the web. thing gets worse as politically driven individuals having ostensible reasons are quick to further spread the news in blogs. the damage is irreparable. the reputation of both the highly patriotic ambassador and quintessential wife who have always proudly and enthusiastically spoken of the Malays’ achievement in Malay Archipelago throughout history has been tarnished. only those who have the privileges of knowing them would know how friendly, humble, open-minded and kind-hearted the couple is. no doubt, they have won the hearts of so many despite their relatively new presence in the Philippines. a public apology therefore ought to be made and the issue deserve to be addressed accurately and wisely. be fair to Datin Seri Dato' Zainab and the ambassador, the members of Malaysian Diplomatic Corps and Malaysians in general by re-informing and reeducating the whole world based on the right account of event. similarly, no future case should ever ever happen again.

thinking of this, diplo life is not always a bed of roses. i bet no one would not disagree at least at this point.