# Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Malaysia

The special envoys of the prime minister of Malaysia (Malay: Duta Khas Perdana Menteri Malaysia) are individuals, usually politicians, appointed with specific assignments to enhance the relationship between Malaysia with particular states or regions where Malaysia has considerable economic interests and cultural similarities. In contrast to that of ambassadorial appointments, Malaysian special envoys are not appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) as head of state, but rather are direct appointees of the head of government, the prime minister of Malaysia. They are often appointed with the rank equivalent to a minister.
Special envoys are often accorded a team consisting of between four and eight personnel, usually including a senior private secretary, special officer, two special assistants and some with a police escort.
Although most special envoys have been appointed with ministerial rank, the salaries drawn have varied depending on portfolio. Known individuals who have served in this capacity without drawing any salary include Ong Ka Ting and Tiong King Sing during Tiong's first posting to East Asia. Nevertheless, Ong was listed as receiving a monthly salary of RM20,000 during his earlier terms as special envoy.

## List of special envoys of the prime ministers of Malaysia

Colour key (for political coalition/parties):
| Coalition | Member party | Appointee(s) |
| Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) | 1 |
| Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | 1 |
| Barisan Nasional (BN) | Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) | 1 |
| Barisan Nasional (BN) | United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) | 1 |
| Pakatan Harapan (PH) | Democratic Action Party (DAP) | 1 |
| Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | 1 |
| Muafakat Nasional (MN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | 1 |
| Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | 1 |
| Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) | Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) | 1 |
| Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) | Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) | 1 |
| * | Appointment with ministerial rank |
| Name (Birth–Death) Constituency (if any) | Political coalition | Political party | Appointment | Areas and portfolios | Areas and portfolios | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Prime Minister |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | Republic of India | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | People's Republic of Bangladesh | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | Kingdom of Bhutan | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | Republic of Maldives | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tun Samy Vellu SSM SUMW SSAP PNBS SPMP 8 March 1936 - 15 September 2022(2022-09-15) (aged 86) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and South Asia | | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | 02009-10-01-031 January 2011 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 7 years and 181 days | Najib Razak |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting PMN DPMS SPMP DPMP 15 November 1956 (age 67) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) | Special Envoy to China | | People's Republic of China | 02009-10-01-031 November 2011 | 02009-10-01-0331 December 2017 | 6 years and 61 days | Najib Razak |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis PSM SPMP SSAP SJMK SIMP DIMP 25 May 1951 – 4 April 2015(2015-04-04) (aged 63) MP for Rompin | Barisan Nasional (BN) | United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) | Special Envoy to the United States | | United States of America | 02009-10-01-031 March 2012 | 02009-10-01-034 April 2015 | 3 years and 35 days | Najib Razak |
| Dato Sri Tiong King Sing PNBS SSAP PJN DPMK SSSA DSSA 3 September 1961 (age 63) MP for Bintulu | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) | Special Envoy to East Asia | | Japan | 02009-10-01-033 January 2014 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 4 years and 179 days | Najib Razak |
| Dato Sri Tiong King Sing PNBS SSAP PJN DPMK SSSA DSSA 3 September 1961 (age 63) MP for Bintulu | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) | Special Envoy to East Asia | | Republic of Korea | 02009-10-01-033 January 2014 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 4 years and 179 days | Najib Razak |
| Dato Sri Tiong King Sing PNBS SSAP PJN DPMK SSSA DSSA 3 September 1961 (age 63) MP for Bintulu | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) | Special Envoy to East Asia | | Republic of China | 02009-10-01-033 January 2014 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 4 years and 179 days | Najib Razak |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Khalid Abu Bakar PMN PSM SPDK SPTS SSTM SSIS SJMK SSAP DCSM DHMS DPMS DIMP 5 September 1957 (age 67) | – | – | Special Envoy of Combating Terrorism, Extremism and Human Trafficking | – | – | 02009-10-01-035 September 2017 | 02009-10-01-0330 June 2018 | 299 days | Najib Razak |
| Tuan Tan Kok Wai 7 October 1957 (age 67) MP for Cheras | Pakatan Harapan (PH) | Democratic Action Party (DAP) | Special Envoy to China | | People's Republic of China | 02009-10-01-0325 July 2018 | 02009-10-01-031 March 2020 | 1 year and 220 days | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Kingdom of Bahrain | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Arab Republic of Egypt | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | State of Kuwait | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Lebanese Republic | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Sultanate of Oman | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | Syrian Arab Republic | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang PSM SSMT 20 October 1947 (age 76) MP for Marang | Perikatan Nasional (PN) | Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) | Special Envoy to the Middle East | | United Arab Emirates | 02009-10-01-032 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 237 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Dato Sri Tiong King Sing PNBS SSAP PJN DPMK SSSA DSSA 3 September 1961 (age 63) MP for Bintulu | Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) | Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) | Special Envoy to People's Republic of China | | People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao | 02009-10-01-0320 April 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 2 years and 219 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem PNBS SSAP PJN KMN 1 December 1951 (age 72) MP for Serian | Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) | Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) | Special Envoy to East Asia | | Japan | 02009-10-01-0316 May 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 4 years and 147 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem PNBS SSAP PJN KMN 1 December 1951 (age 72) MP for Serian | Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) | Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) | Special Envoy to East Asia | | Republic of Korea | 02009-10-01-0316 May 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 4 years and 147 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem PNBS SSAP PJN KMN 1 December 1951 (age 72) MP for Serian | Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) | Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) | Special Envoy to East Asia | | Republic of China | 02009-10-01-0316 May 2020 | 24 November 2022 | 4 years and 147 days | Muhyiddin Yassin Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | Republic of India | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | People's Republic of Bangladesh | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | Kingdom of Bhutan | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | Republic of Maldives | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |
| Tan Sri Dato' Sri Vigneswaran Sanasee PSM SSAP DPSM 16 December 1965 (age 56) | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) | Special Envoy to South Asia | | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | 02009-10-01-0314 November 2021 | 24 November 2022 | 1 year and 11 days | Ismail Sabri Yaakob |

## Controversy

The appointment of special envoys during the Barisan Nasional (BN) tenure was met with repeated accusations of unnecessary government expenditure due to the high salaries of these appointees. Concerns were also raised regarding the overlap in responsibilities and functions with respective ambassadors already in office(s). When the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition came to power, all previously appointed special envoys had their tenures cut short. Nonetheless, the PH eventually appointed a single special envoy, albeit without ministerial rank, when Tan Kok Wai was announced as special envoy to the People's Republic of China and concurrently as chairperson of the Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC) in August 2018. The then-Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saifuddin Abdullah, commented that the role of the special envoy would be to "complement" that of the ambassador in specialised areas.
Following the 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis, further controversy erupted when newly appointed prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, was accused of appointing individuals as special envoys to secure his position.