MALAYSIA: Government Tell Aussie to Butt Out

Australia has every right to question Malaysia’s actions.

Nick Xenophon, an independent senator from Australia, was recently deported from Malaysia after traveling to Kuala Lumpur on an unofficial parliamentary “fact-finding” journey to analyze the ‘free and fair elections’ in Malaysia.  Malaysia says otherwise.

According to the Malaysian government, Xenophon was detained prior to his deportation due to “security purposes”.  However, others speculate that his link to the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections is the main reason for his deportation.  This coalition was the head of many rallies that led Prime Minister Najib Razak to ban street protests in 2011.  The director general of the Immigration Department in Malaysia, Alias Ahmad, commented: “Malaysia is a free and democratic country, but no one is above the law.”

The Australian government demands a better explanation than this.  Julia Gillard, the PM for Australia, stated that she was “surprised and disappointed to see the treatment of Senator Xenophon.”

Gillard was not the only person to support Xenophon.  Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has criticized the deportation of Xenophon.  Ibrahim is in strong opposition to the electoral system in Malaysia and has been pushing for the voter rolls to be “cleaned up”. It seems as if a revolution of sorts is brewing amongst the Malaysian citizens against the governing coalition.

Go To:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21492699

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-17/malaysia-s-election-faces-scrutiny-after-australian-expelled.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/02/201321663423529540.html

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