Dato' N Parameswaran : Tribute To An Upright Diplomat

I learned with much sadness of the rather sudden passing away of a dear and well-respected former senior Foreign Service colleague, Dato’ N Parameswaran. In the past fourteen years since relinquishing our posts as heads of diplomatic missions overseas, Param and I have largely maintained spasmodic WhatsApp and occasional phone contact.

All the promised and prospective meetings between us did not materialize partly on account of the protracted restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic and also because he lived in Johor while I lived in Kajang. Opportunities to meet each other became rare as we did not share many common friends and our paths seldom crossed. But we shared concerns on the rapid downward slide of our country. When he encountered a piece of my writing on a matter of public interest he would always write and compliment me and I, did the same but for good reason did it less often. Param was a straight shooter. He did not mince his words and often lambasted the authorities in a direct and critical manner, while I chose the more obtuse, circumspect, and less confrontational approach. Nevertheless, we shared the greatest sense of loyalty to our Malaysia, admired greatly key personalities of our Foreign Service like the late Tun M Ghazali Shafie, Tan Sri Zakaria Hj Mohd Ali and Tan Sri Zainal Abidin Sulong and some of our contemporaries like Tan Sri Hasmy Adam, Dato Renji Sathiah and Dato Mokhtar Selat.

Param was a great connoisseur of art and music. Apart from having an impressive collection of artwork he also had an interest in encouraging, inspiring, and supporting artists both in Malaysia and in the countries that he had served abroad. He was highly committed to training his junior colleagues to achieve the highest standards of diplomatic professionalism and expertise. He believed passionately that diplomats must be precise, positive, and persevere to protect our country’s interests to the best of their ability. For some of those that worked with him, this would have seemed a Herculean task, but he would not compromise on those high standards.

The country has lost a most loyal and patriotic civil servant, an able diplomat, and a soul who lived and thought of art with its budding, aspiring and accomplished sets of people in the broadest and most inclusive way.

Most of all, he valued the friendships he had forged with people from all walks of life who lived in different parts of the planet.

He is survived by his daughter, Sharmin.

M Santhananaban

Kajang

June 17, 2022