“Tajuddin will issue a statement,” Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters.

Yesterday, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong presented letters of appointment to four new Malaysian heads of missions at Istana Negara.

Bernama reported that the newly-appointed heads of missions were to South Korea (Lim Jay Jin), Japan (Shahril Effendi Abd Ghany), Saudi Arabia (Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah) and Iran (Khairi Omar).

The report did not make any mention of Tajuddin.

The omission of Tajuddin’s name from the list follows reports that Putrajaya had dropped him as an envoy to the republic.

A source confirmed with FMT that Putrajaya had a “change of heart” over Tajuddin’s appointment, which came under heavy criticism, including from former diplomats and civil society.

There were also calls for the former Umno Supreme Council member’s appointment to be scrapped, especially after Tajuddin’s tell-all press conference late last month where he called for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to step down as the party president.