By Samuel Aubrey
KUCHING — Ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See, Dato Westmoreland Edward Palon became the pride of the Christian community during this Easter weekend after news broke out of him receiving an award at the Vatican.
When contacted, Westmoreland confirmed he had received the Knight Grand Cross of The Order of Pope Pius IX on 29 March.
He said he was among the nine resident ambassadors who were conferred the award for having completed two years of accreditation at the Holy See.
The other recipients were from Turkey, Bulgaria, Morocco, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Senegal, Brazil, and Costa Rica.
“I’m surprised the post about my receiving the award went viral. Regarding the award, the ceremony was held quite some time ago actually, on 24 March 2022, on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Francis (13 March).
“The award was handed out by His Excellency Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute (Sostituto) of the Secretariat of State at the Vatican,” he said when contacted.
Though surprised with the award now made viral, he thanked all the well-wishers for their congratulatory words and wished everyone in Malaysia a Happy Easter.
The Order of Pope Pius IX (Ordine di Pio IX in Italian), also referred as the Pian Order (Ordine Piano in Italian), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560.
Currently, it is the highest honor conferred by the Holy See.
The Knight / Dame Grand Cross (GCPO), commonly awarded to the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, is one of the five classes of the Order.
Westmoreland, a Bidayuh hailing from Kampung Duras in Siburan, commenced his term as Malaysian Ambassador to the Holy See on 21 March, 2019.
He is the second Malaysian Ambassador there after Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Bernard Giluk Dompok.
The 53-year-old started his career as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996. He was the Consul General at Consulate General of Malaysia in Melbourne, Australia from 2015 prior to his appointment as Ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See.
He previously served as Assistant Secretary (West Europe) from 1996 until 1999, Assistant Secretary (Information) from 1999 to 2000 and Second Secretary at High Commission of Malaysia in the Republic of Singapore from 2000 to 2004.
He later served as First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Malaysia in the United Nations in New York, United States of America from 2004 until 2007 and Principal Assistant Secretary (America) from 2007 until 2010.
He had also served as Counselor at the Malaysian Embassy in Santiago, Chile from 2010 to 2013 and Director at Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat from 2013 to 2015.
In 2020, he was among the recipients of the Panglima Setia Bintang Sarawak (PSBS) which carries the title Dato in conjunction with Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s 84th birthday.
Source: Borneo Post Online
*Editor’s Note: Photo with Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh added by Today’s Catholic Online
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