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)