Parameswaran tendered his resignation as chief-of-staff of Untaet on December 21 although his contract ended just eight days away. In his resignation to Kofi Annan, he alleged: “Untaet has become very much a White mission, an Eastern mission with a Western face”.
With his resignation, there will effectively be no high-level Asian civilian represented in the mission.
Parameswaran said there had been a steady increase in Western influence, and that no deliberate action had been taken to recruit people who knew more about the region or the “the psyche of East Timor’s most important neighbour, Indonesia”.
The Malaysian government should give full endorsement to Parameswaran’s protest resignation, especially as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that the reason of racism cited by the Malaysian diplomat for his resignation “seemed to be justified”.
The Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar should explain whether Parameswaran’s resignation and protest of white racism at Untaet was discussed at the Cabinet yesterday, as well as how the government proposes to mobilise international support to ensure that there is a full-scale United Nations investigation into Parameswaran’s serious allegation.
(10/1/2002)