NZ columnist lauds Malaysia's decision
A columnist with a New Zealand newspaper has praised Malaysia for having 'done the right thing' in announcing the decision to send back a diplomat to New Zealand to face alleged sex charges.
Audrey Young, the New Zealand Herald 's political editor, noted that for a couple of days, it was wrongly believed that Malaysia had whisked the accused diplomat out of New Zealand and thumbed its nose at the latter's request to revoke his diplomatic immunity.
A columnist with a New Zealand newspaper has praised Malaysia for having 'done the right thing' in announcing the decision to send back a diplomat to New Zealand to face alleged sex charges.
Audrey Young, the New Zealand Herald 's political editor, noted that for a couple of days, it was wrongly believed that Malaysia had whisked the accused diplomat out of New Zealand and thumbed its nose at the latter's request to revoke his diplomatic immunity.
The Malaysians made the decision under a false understanding, she said in the newspaper's online edition.
"That was down to a bungle by a mid-grade official in the protocol division of the New Zealand ministry who led the Malaysians to believe the New Zealand government would not object to that course of action," she explained.
Young said now that Malaysia knew it was false, it had reversed its decision and announced that the official formerly attached with the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington would be sent back to New Zealand.
This, Young said, showed integrity.
The decision to send back Second Warrant Officer Muhammad Rizalman Ismail, a former defence staff assistant at the High Commission who is accused of burglary and assault with intent to commit rape, was announced by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry last night.
The ministry had said that Malaysia had complete faith in the New Zealand legal system and had full confidence that he would be given fair treatment with dignity as provided under the law.
Young pointed out that it would be too much to say the move had restored Malaysia's relations with New Zealand because at a political level, they were not damaged in the first place.
"Malaysia and New Zealand have become a lot closer in recent years: they signed an FTA (free trade agreement) in 2009, New Zealand joined the East Asia Summit and has made closer relations with Asean a top priority in the region," she noted.
Even if the accused had not been returned, Young said the bilateral relationship would not have been strained by it because "it was New Zealand's bungle".
- Bernama
