Anwar Ibrahim |
- MEDIA RELEASE: Detention of Senator Nick Xenophon is Gross Abuse of Power And Violation of International Protocol
- MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS Senator the Hon. Bob Carr
- Nick Xenophon Denied Entry to Malaysia, Expects Deportation
- Nick Xenophon Detained in Malaysia
- Aussie Senator Detained at LCCT, Called ‘Security Risk’
- Australian Senator Detained at KLIA, Awaiting Deportation
| Posted: 15 Feb 2013 09:37 PM PST I condemn in the strongest terms the detention of Australian senator Nick Xenophon at the KL International Airport who is said to be a security threat and branded an "enemy of the state." The allegations are completely without foundation. I would like to remind Prime Minister Najib Razak that he has no right to treat visitors as enemies of the state merely because they are critical of his UMNO led administration. Malaysia does not belong to UMNO. It belongs to all Malaysians regardless of political affiliation. While it is true that Senator Xenophon has raised concerns about the probity of our coming general elections, he has neither violated any written law nor conducted himself in a manner which may be constituted as a threat to our security. Furthermore, he is here to be joined later by other Australian lawmakers for talks with us as well as officials of the Election Commission. These reasons cannot be grounds to black list him. This act of detention and proposed deportation for partisan political reasons is therefore a gross abuse of power. It is also clearly a violation of international protocol in the treatment of visiting law makers from abroad, particularly from member countries of the Commonwealth. Anwar Ibrahim |
| MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS Senator the Hon. Bob Carr Posted: 15 Feb 2013 08:46 PM PST NICK XENOPHON Foreign Minister Bob Carr today said Australian officials were seeking the immediate release of independent Senator Nick Xenophon who was detained this morning while seeking to enter Malaysia through Kuala Lumpur's international airport. "I'm advised Senator Xenophon has been detained by Malaysian authorities with a view to deportation," Senator Carr said. "Preliminary reports suggest the detention is under Malaysia's national security laws. "Our High Commissioner, Miles Kupa has now made direct contact with Senator Xenophon at the airport and is seeking his release. "Mr Kupa is also urgently pursuing an explanation from Malaysian authorities regarding the reasons for this detention. "Australia's concerns have been raised with Malaysia's Foreign Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs and the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia. Their support is requested in securing Senator Xenophon's swift release from custody. "Senator Xenophon's detention is a surprising and disappointing act from a country with which Australia routinely maintains strong diplomatic relations." |
| Nick Xenophon Denied Entry to Malaysia, Expects Deportation Posted: 15 Feb 2013 06:39 PM PST INDEPENDENT senator Nick Xenophon has been refused entry to Malaysia and now expects to be deported. Senator Xenophon, who has raised serious concerns about the probity of the upcoming Malaysian elections, flew to Kuala Lumpur this morning but was stopped by immigration officials. "I am effectively a prisoner here. I’m being held in an area with all these holding cells which are full of women. They have basically told me I am an enemy of the state,” he told the Adelaide Sunday Mail. "They are trying to get me on the next plane out of here and back home.” A spokesman for his office said he had been informed he would be deported under the country’s security legislation. Senator Xenophon planned to stay in Malaysia until Tuesday, meeting election commission officials and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. He has been highly critical of preparations for the election to be held later this year. In particular, he’s pointed to serious concerns about the integrity of the country’s election rolls. Senator Xenophon said today that Malaysian immigration officials told him there was a technical glitch with his passport and then escorted to an area of holding cells, although he was not put in a cell. "I was eventually told apologetically by immigration officials that I am on a watchlist, that there are orders from above in terms of security concerns and I have to be deported on the next flight out of here,” he told Sky News. Senator Xenophon said he had visited Malaysia previously at the invitation of Mr Ibrahim, participating in the elections observer group last year. "We found there are some serious systemic concerns about the Malaysian elections that are coming up. They are due to be called any day,” he said. Senator Xenophon said he was participating in a delegation with other Australian MPs including Liberal Mal Washer, Nationals senator John Williams and ALP MP Steve Georganas, who were due to arrive in the next 24-36 hours. He said the delegation had meetings arranged with the Malaysian government minister responsible for the election process as well as with Mr Ibrahim. "It seems I won’t be doing any of that because I am deemed to be a security risk,” he said. Senator Xenophon admitted he had been and remained critical of Malaysia’s human rights record. He said he had he had talked with Australia’s High Commissioner Miles Cooper, who planned to visit him later today. "Malaysia and Australia are great friends. The Australian government is willing to do a people swap deal with the Malaysians, which must involve a lot of trust on their part,” he said. "It seems that a member of the Australian parliament is now not allowed into Malaysia because I am a supposed security risk. I just wanted to arrive here quietly and do our work. I didn’t ask to be deported, believe me.” |
| Nick Xenophon Detained in Malaysia Posted: 15 Feb 2013 06:34 PM PST Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has been detained in Malaysia as a ”security threat” and is to be deported back to Australia within hours. Senator Xenophon, who has raised serious concerns about the probity of the upcoming Malaysian elections, was stopped by immigration officials this morning on his arrival at Kuala Lumpur airport and told he was on a blacklist. Senator Xenophon was in Malaysia leading a bipartisan visit of Australian politicians for talks with the country’s opposition party about electoral systems. He has been highly critical of preparations for the election to be held later this year. In particular, he's pointed to serious concerns about the integrity of the country's election rolls. Advertisement ''They are trying to get me on the next plane out of here and back home.'' NSW Senator John Williams, WA MP Mal Washer and South Australian MP Steve Gorganas were due to fly out Sunday night to join Senator Xenophon. Senator Williams said he knew that Senator Xenophon had been travelling on his private passport and not his official one. Senator Williams said he will wait until the dust settles to decide whether he will continue with his planned visit. He told Fairfax Media that Senator Xenophon might have been blacklisted after he was incorrectly quoted last year in the Malaysian paper The New Straits Times saying Islam was a cult. He had said that the Church of Scientology was a cult not Islam. The newspaper later issued an apology acknowledging that Senator Xenophon did not make the comments. A spokesman for his office said he had been informed he would be deported under the country's security legislation.Senator Xenophon planned to stay in Malaysia until Tuesday, meeting election commission officials and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. |
| Aussie Senator Detained at LCCT, Called ‘Security Risk’ Posted: 15 Feb 2013 06:30 PM PST Australian Senator Nick Xenophon was detained at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang this morning and will be deported as Immigration called him a security risk, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's chief of staff said today. Ibrahim Yaacob told The Malaysian Insider that Xenophon was here to meet Opposition Leader Anwar on Monday as well as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz and Election Commission (EC) officials on Tuesday. "(Immigration said that) he's a security risk. Orders from above," Ibrahim said. |
| Australian Senator Detained at KLIA, Awaiting Deportation Posted: 15 Feb 2013 06:27 PM PST Australian senator Nick Xenophon has been detained at the KL International Airport and is awaiting deportation for allegedly being an "enemy of the state". Xenophon, who arrived at KLIA early this morning, has been held at the Immigration holding pen over the past few hours. “I am effectively a prisoner here,” Xenophon told Australia's Sunday Mail. “I’m being held in an area with all these holding cells which are full of women. They have basically told me I am an enemy of the state. They are trying to get me on the next plane out of here and back home.” According to the senator, while he was not allowed to make any telephone calls, he managed to make a call to the Australian newspaper when he was left unattended in the interrogation room. Xenophon is scheduled to meet with parliamentarians, the Election Commission and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz on electoral issues. Three other Australian politicians are to join him as part of the fact-finding delegation – Liberal MP Mal Washer, Nationals senator John Williams, and Labor MP Steve Georganas. However, they have yet to leave for Malaysia. It is unclear whether they will reconsider their travel plans given the latest development. Xenophon attended the Bersih 3.0 rally last year as an international observer and was teargassed by the riot police, who were clamping down on demonstrators demanding electoral reforms. ‘Orders from above’ He told Australia’s ABC News 24 he had not expected to be detained on arrival in Kuala Lumpur. He said the immigration officials have been “incredibly polite” but they have told him they received “orders from above” to detain him. “I just find it extraordinary. I’ve been here before [and] I’ve made statements about the state of Malaysian democracy previously,” he said. “But on this occasion clearly someone high up in the Malaysian government doesn’t want me here.” |
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