FORMER ambassador to the Holy See Bernard Dompok has denied claims that he refused to relinquish the post and had defied the Pakatan Harapan government’s move to recall him.

Dompok said he requested for more time to sort out his departure, including making courtesy calls and making travel arrangements.

Dompok had only about two weeks to return to Malaysia after receiving the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s termination letter on June 7. He was told to return to Malaysia by June 30.

“You know, a lot of things needed to be done,” an indignant Dompok told The Malaysian Insight at his home in Penampang, Sabah, days after his return.

“I wrote a letter to the Foreign Affairs Ministry on June 8, as I don’t want to leave Rome in a cloud of dust. I want to leave properly. You can’t do it all it if you are told to be back by end of the month.”

However, by June 14, he decided to retract the request for an extension as he didn’t want to “burden the ministry’s permanent secretary”.

He wanted to meet the ambassadors of other countries before returning to Malaysia, adding that his request for a delay was because of logistical difficulties.

“The reason for my request for an extension from Wisma Putra was because it was peak travel period and it was not easy to get tickets to return home. 

“Even the closest date we got to book was on July 6 and the Foreign Affairs Ministry informed that there will no more official duties after June 30 and I said, okay.”

However, Dompok said he was lucky enough to bid farewell to Pope Francis although it was only brief as his courtesy call to the Holy Father was squeezed along with another outgoing Vatican diplomat from Germany.

He was happy to be able to organise a small luncheon on June 27 and invited those whom he had come to know during his stay in the course of duty in the Vatican.

Dompok, who was made the Malaysian ambassador to the Holy See in 2016, along with ambassador to Finland Blanche O’Leary, reportedly refused to comply with the initial termination order from the PH government.

The two, along with two other ambassadors, were political appointees and would be replaced with qualified career diplomats. – July 12, 2018.