A Malaysian consular employee was stabbed to death in a 'ferocious attack' outside his Sydney home in a suspected road rage incident, officials said Monday. The 43-year-old man, who worked as a driver for the Malaysian consul general, was beaten and stabbed in inner-city Leichhardt by two men late on Sunday despite an attempted intervention by a female passer-by. 'It was a ferocious attack, there's no doubt about that,' Detective Inspector Shane Woolbank said. Authorities said they were examining whether the attack stemmed from a road rage incident moments earlier. 'Police are trying to determine whether the victim's car was involved in a traffic incident with a dark-coloured sedan,' police said in a statement. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman called for a thorough investigation. 'I would like to urge the Australian police and the relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the case to ensure that the incident is a genuine road rage case and not a case of race-biased hate crime,' he said in a statement. Malaysian consul general Mohd Nasir Abu Hassan said the victim, a Malaysian who had recently become an Australian citizen, had worked as a driver for the consulate for three years. 'This is a very stressful time for all of us at the consulate,' he told reporters. 'We got on very well with him and we were shocked that we heard this tragic news.' 