United States envoy-to-be arrives in Malaysia
THE STAR
KUALA LUMPUR: Indian-American diplomat Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir has arrived here to be the US Ambassador-designate to Malaysia.
She replaces Joseph Y Yun, who left in October after a three-year stint in Malaysia.
The US Embassy announced her arrival with a video posted on its Facebook page on Thursday.
In her message, Kamala welcomed Malaysians to visit the United States, to meet Americans and build on people-to-people ties.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to an Indian father and American mother, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1986.
According to the US Embassy website, Kamala joined the Foreign Service in 1991 and served at the country’s mission in Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 1994, and later in Indonesia (1994-1996).
She held several positions in Washington before being assigned to the US Embassy in Beijing from 2001 to 2005.
Kamala has also served as director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which is responsible for managing the country’s relations with Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei.
