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| JOHN ALLEN |
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs head John Allen offered to resign over his
ministry's mishandling in the case of a Malaysian diplomat who left the country
after an alleged attempt to rape a woman.
New Zealand Herald reported that its Foreign
Minister, Murray McCully however declined the offer from Allen but said he was
angry about his officials' mistakes, which led to public embarrassment for the
minister and Prime Minister John Key.
It was reported that the debacle had
undermined his confidence in the ministry's ability to carry out its duties.
The New Zealand Herald in its report said
the extent of the miscommunication within the ministry became apparent as Allen
revealed he knew nothing about the charges against Malaysian diplomat Muhammed
Rizalman Ismail until Friday - seven weeks after police arrested him.
It said McCully did not know Ismail had left
the country with diplomatic immunity until this date.
Malaysian officials were also given mixed messages
by ministry officials which led them to believe New Zealand agreed to his
repatriation in Malaysia.
In official talks between New Zealand and
Malaysian representatives, the ministry clearly stated that it wanted Malaysia
to waive immunity for Ismail so he could face the charges of burglary and
assault with intent to rape in New Zealand.
But mid-level officials also engaged in a
series of unofficial discussions - emails and phone calls - which led to this
stance becoming more "ambiguous" for Malaysian officials.
As a result, Malaysia concluded that it was
acceptable to New Zealand for the diplomat to return home instead of facing the
charges in New Zealand, contrary to Key's public statements.
"What is clear is that our Malaysian
colleagues believed not agreeing to the waiver was a process the New Zealand
Government agreed with," Allen said.
"That was clearly not the case. The
ministry dropped the ball."
McCully apologised to Key and the
21-year-old woman who was allegedly assaulted by Ismail.
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