Official Denial of Alien Ambassadorship

Many not only heard this rumor, but spread it like wild fire. Unfortunately it is not true. On September 26, 2010 the internet buzzed with unofficial announcements that Malaysian astrophysicist Mazlan Othman was about to be appointed UN ambassador to extraterrestrials. This rumor, which appears to have started with the Sunday Times, was then carried by numerous media outlets on-line and television, even making it to CNN, as it turns out is false. The next day on September 27, 2010, the Guardian reported that Dr. Othman sent them an e-mail in response to their request for her comments on this matter. She is reported to have said in this e-mail, “It sounds really cool but I have to deny it.”

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According to the rumors, she would be attending a Royal Society conference in Buckinghamshire, UK early October to speak on this matter. This conference is real, but her topic is not slated to be about extraterrestrial life, but rather extraterrestrial space objects that come close to the Earth. In reality, Dr. Othman will talk about what we should do with near-Earth objects, (i.e. asteroids, comets, and other space debris), admittedly not nearly as exotic or exciting, but an important topic, none the less. Regrettably, these rumors may have now undermined the substance of her subject, for such near-Earth objects should be taken very seriously, considering the possible genuine threat such objects could pose if colliding with the Earth. This problem would not be an issue if more reporters did their jobs correctly, with proper source checking like the Guardian.

In 1999, Dr. Othman was appointed director of the United Nation’s Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which oversees the peaceful use and spread of Humankind into outer space and at this time does not include provisions or policies regarding extraterrestrial life.

Perhaps part of the misunderstanding that led to the spread of this rumor stems from some of her comments in a recent talk to fellow scientists, when she is reported to have said, “The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that some day Humankind will receive signals from extraterrestrials. When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination.”

While at this time the rumor mill got over excited about this idea, it is inevitable that just such a position will at some point in time be necessary. Unquestionably, Dr. Othman would be on the short list of those few people actually qualified for such an ambassadorship. Let’s just hope that this overblown media hoopla has not spoiled her chances for it, when ET does come knocking.