KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Idris Jala being described as a 'Malaysian official' by a Vietnamese news outlet is nothing more than a media error.
Highlighting the article from Vietnam was Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Ong Kian Ming on Twitter.
"This article reports Idris Jala as being a Malaysian official. As far as I know, he is the CEO of a private consulting firm.
"I hope that Idris is not going around the world passing himself off as a Malaysian Official," Ong said.
The news article by Vietnam's newsportal Nhan Dan was on Idris visiting the country's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
"Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Dato Sri Idris Jala, Chief Executive Officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of Malaysia, in Hanoi on July 18," stated the report.
Ong's tweet was replied by Pemandu Associates executive vice president Ku Kok Peng who said he had accompanied Idris at the meeting and they had represented themselves as a private entity.
"This media error is regrettable," Ku said.
Idris affirmed Ku's tweet, stating on his own Twitter account that he was invited to speak at the Vietnam ICT Conference in his capacity as CEO of Pemandu Associates.
"The PM (of Vietnam) gave the keynote address and we met after the conference," Idris said.
Pemandu Associates initially started out as a unit called Pemandu under the Prime Minister's Department.
In 2017, it became a private consultancy firm known as Pemandu Associates Sdn Bhd, of which Idris is the CEO and president.
Ong has yet to respond to Idris' clarification on the matter as at press time.