Fatimah (centre) along with Fenny (left) and Salina pose for a group photo during the courtesy call.
KUCHING (June 29): Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah hopes that Dato Fenny Nuli’s appointment as Malaysia’s Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and International Organisations in Vienna will create opportunities for Sarawak to learn from Austria’s expertise and experience.
Fenny will also be concurrently accredited to Slovakia, Fatimah told reporters after receiving a farewell courtesy call from Fenny at her office in Petra Jaya here on Monday.
“We would also like to ask her, when she starts working in Austria, to help us see what we can learn or benchmark against from Austria,” she said.
Fatimah said the state was keen to explore Austria’s best practices in areas such as ageing, women’s empowerment, early childhood development, welfare for persons with disabilities, assistance for pregnant mothers and social wellbeing in general.
She said she was delighted when informed of Fenny’s transfer, noting that it had not been long since the latter returned to Sarawak to serve as director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Sarawak Regional Office.
She described Fenny’s latest appointment as a significant milestone for the Sarawakian diplomat.
“As a minister responsible for women’s issues, we feel this is a very good opportunity for her. It is like a promotion, and we are proud that she is a Sarawakian appointed to such an important position,” she said.
Fatimah added that the appointment carries significant responsibilities and marks another positive step in Fenny’s diplomatic career.
Earlier, Fenny said she will oversee Malaysia’s bilateral relations with Austria and Slovakia as well as multilateral affairs involving the UN and other international organisations based in Vienna.
She explained that she is currently Ambassador-designate and expects to formally assume her duties after presenting her credentials to the presidents of Austria and Slovakia in July.
Describing the appointment as her second ambassadorship, Fenny said she was deeply honoured by the trust placed in her.
“As a diplomat, becoming an ambassador is the highest level of diplomacy. I am very honoured and would like to thank the Malaysian government for choosing me to take on this important responsibility,” she said.
A career diplomat with nearly 30 years of experience, Fenny joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997 and has served in various diplomatic assignments, including Geneva, Poland, Thailand, Belgium, Peru and Austria.
She has also held several senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Director of the Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat and Undersecretary for International Cooperation and Development.
From 2019 to 2023, she served as Ambassador of Malaysia to Peru, with concurrent accreditation to Bolivia, Colombia and Panama.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Social Sciences from Universiti Sains Malaysia ,(USM) and a Diploma in Public Administration from National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN).
In recognition of her distinguished public service, she was conferred the Pegawai Bintang Sarawak (PBS.) in 2017 and the Panglima Setia Bintang Sarawak (PSBS), which carried the title “Dato” in 2025.
Also present during the courtesy call was the ministry’s head of Childhood Development Division, Salina Bujang.
