A photograph of such a name card was however posted online and has gone viral on social media.

When contacted by FMT, Nazri denied ever approving such a card for his wife, saying he did not even know if the card in the photo was real or fake.

“Any card that comes out of my ministry must get my permission. In this case, no permission was given.

“I really don’t know (if the name card was legit). But I never gave permission for this to be issued, and my wife never asked for it,” he told FMT.

The name card with Haflin’s name, stating her designation as “Spouse-Minister of Culture and Tourism Malaysia”, was uploaded to Facebook by former New Straits Times group editor Mustapha Kamil today.

Mustapha captioned the photograph with a message condemning any form of interference in national matters by a public official’s spouse, saying it was a sign the country was heading towards becoming a failed state.

Asked about Mustapha’s statement, Nazri said he himself did not condone such a practice.

“I won’t even allow my son (to be issued such a name card). No, I don’t condone it at all,” he said.