New Zealand bungled Malaysian aide’s case, says columnist
(The Star) – A bungle by a Wellington official caused the misunderstanding over the diplomatic immunity granted to a Malaysian diplomat facing burglary and sexual assault charges there, a New Zealand columnist said.
The New Zealand Herald’s political editor Audrey Young said the Malaysian government acted under a false understanding when it chose to have Warrant Officer 2 Muhammad Rizalman Ismail repatriated to Malaysia despite the charges against him.
She said New Zealand wrongly blamed Malaysia for rejecting the former’s request to waive diplomatic immunity for Rizalman, when a poorly worded letter from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) suggested that New Zealand would not object to such an outcome.
“For a couple of days, Malaysia’s reputation was dented here when it was wrongly believed the country had whisked the accused diplomat out of New Zealand and thumbed its nose at NZ requests to revoke his diplomatic immunity.
“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 wrote Thursday.
She said Malaysia had done the right thing by reversing its initial decision and opting to send the accused back to New Zealand to face charges once it found out of the misunderstanding.
She praised Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman for his handling of the issue, which had “gone some way to restoring Malaysia’s reputation”.
Young said the bungle would not significantly damage bilateral relations between the two countries, but wrote that it would dent MFAT’s reputation.
“What is unbelievable is that diplomatic immunity, an issue of such public sensitivity that effectively allows diplomats to get away with murder, is dealt with by the protocol section of the MFAT and not at least deputy secretary level.
“One of the long-lasting consequences of this episode is that it will undermine the public’s confidence in the ministry’s competence,” she added.
WO2 Rizalman, who serves at the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington with a defence portfolio, is accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman at her home on May 9 this year.
He reportedly followed her back to her home in Brooklyn and is alleged to have assaulted her with the intent to commit rape.
He was brought up to court on May 10 to face charges of burglary and assault but used diplomatic immunity to return to Malaysia.
Meanwhile, in an editorial in the daily called for Foreign Minister Muray McCully to apologise to the Malaysian government for suggesting the latter was entirely to blame for the diplomatic immunity granted to Rizalman.
The daily hit out at McCully for releasing an exchange of letters that seemed to blame Malaysia without first checking with his counterparts in MFAT.
“McCully ought to have checked with the MFAT before New Zealand said anything more.
“Too late, he discovered that the ministry had been saying one thing in a letter to the (Malaysian) High Commission and another thing in discussions with the Malaysian (government),” it said in the piece published Thursday.
