Government official, male, with friends in Arab state (9)
I believe the answer is:
ombudsman
'government official' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'male with friends in arab state' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'friends' becomes 'buds' (I've seen this in another clue).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'arab state' becomes 'oman' (I've seen this before).
'm' after 'buds' is 'budsm'.
'budsm' placed inside 'oman' is 'OMBUDSMAN'.
(Other definitions for ombudsman that I've seen before include "Official investigator of complaints" , "Official pursuing complaints against government departments" , "Government appointee who investigates complaints" , "Parliamentary commissioner" , "Commisioner" .)