PM saddened by death of Malaysia's Ambassador to Switzerland

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak expressed sadness over the death of Malaysia's Ambassador to Switzerland Datuk Mohd Zulkephli Mohd Noor who died in Berne, Switzerland Wednesday.

"Received sad news that Malaysia's Ambassador to Switzerland, Datuk Mohd Zulkephli Mohd Noor passed away this afternoon. Al Fatihah," he said in his latest posting on Facebook and Twitter.

Mohd Zulkephli, 57, died at 6.38am local time.

He leaves behind wife Datin Anna Amalia Imam Baweh and five children.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra), the Malaysian Embassy in Berne with the help of Malaysia's permanent representative in Geneva was in the process of arranging for the remains to be brought home to Malaysia.

Mohd Zulkephli joined the civil service as an Administrative and Diplomatic officer in 1984. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Switzerland, he was Malaysia's Ambassador to Turkmenistan.

Mohd Zulkephli who also served as Malaysia's Ambassador to Libya from 2009 to 2011, was directly involved in an operation to evacuate Malaysians from Libya when a civil war broke out there.

In addition, he had worked in other Malaysian Missions and had served as Malaysian Consul-General in Los Angeles and Malaysian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.