Former Sabah chief minister Bernard Dompok's appointment as Malaysia's first ambassador to the Vatican was seen as a special gift to the Christian community in conjunction with the celebration of Easter this Sunday.

Portuguese community activist Joseph Sta Maria said Dompok's appointment was a blessing for the Christian community in the country and that he was the most fitting candidate to hold the post due to his vast experience that qualified him as a diplomat.

"All churches in Malaysia must welcome and celebrate Dompok's appointment for his role as an ambassador to Vatican City is also meaningful to all Christians in the country, irrespective of the various denominations.

"His services to his country, community and his religion have been enormous. It is a great honour for the Kadazandusun community of Sabah, too," he said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.

On March 17, Dompok received his credentials as ambassador to the Vatican from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah at Istana Negara.

Sta Maria, who also sits as a representative of minority communities in the Malacca state government’s Pembela agency, said the relationship of Vatican City with the Christian community in Malaysia dates back to more than 500 years when Malacca was ruled by Portugal.

"Malacca was then a great port of the world and relationship between the Vatican and Malacca flourished, as stated in Portuguese historical records," he said.

He also said the appointment of Dompok, who is also former plantation industries and commodities minister, completed the diplomatic relationship that Malaysia already had since last year when the Vatican appointed its diplomat Nuncio Joseph Marino as the first Ambassador to Malaysia.

Sta Maria hoped Dompok would pay a visit to the Portuguese Settlement in Malacca as Marino did last year.

- Bernama