Senator Australia Nick Xenophon(kiri) telah ditahan di Terminal Penerbangan
Tambang Murah (LCCT) dan sedang menunggu untuk deportasi kerana didakwa
menjadi "musuh negara".Xenophon, yang tiba awal pagi ini, ditahan pihak imigresen sejak beberapa jam yang lalu.
Xenophon memberitahu akhbar Sunday Mail Australia bahawa beliau sedang ditahan di kawasan dengan semua sel tahanan penuh dengan wanita.
Katanya, beliau dimaklumkan yang beliau merupakan "musuh negara" dan akan dihantar menaiki penerbangan berikutnya untuk pulang ke negaranya.
Menurut senator itu, walaupun tidak dibenarkan membuat sebarang panggilan telefon, tetapi beliau sempat menghubungi akhbar Australia itu ketika ditinggalkan bersendirian dalam bilik soal siasat.
Ketua Kakitangan pejabat Ketua Pembangkang, Ibrahim Yaakob, yang bergegas ke LCCT untuk menguruskan perkara itu, memberitahu Malaysiakini bahawa pegawai imigresen mendapati nama Xenophon telah disenaraihitamkan dalam sistem jabatan tersebut.
"Para pegawai tidak menyatakan sebarang sebab lain, tetapi Xenophon memberitahu kami bahawa dia dimaklumkan bahawa dia ialah musuh negara ini," kata Ibrahim ketika dihubungi.
Akan dihantar pulang
Xenophon dijadualkan dihantar pulang ke Australia dalam penerbangan jam 10 malam ini, kata Ibrahim.
Ibrahim juga berkata Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia ke Malaysia telah tiba di LCCT dan sedang berusaha untuk menghubungi kementerian luar Malaysia.
Senator bebas adalah sebahagian daripada delegasi empat anggota Australia yang mengambil inisiatif untuk meneliti sistem pilihan raya Malaysia selepas kerajaan Australia menolak permohonan Anwar mendapatkan pemerhati bebas bagi memantau pilihan raya umum akan datang.
Tiga lagi anggota delegasi itu ialah MP Mal Washer, Senator John Williams, dan MP Steve Georganas.
Delegasi itu dijadualkan bertemu dengan Anwar pada hari Isnin, Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz pada hari Selasa, serta NGO lain dan ahli parlimen pembangkang.
Bagaimanapun, ketiga-tiga mereka masih belum berlepas ke Malaysia.
Menurut Ibrahim, mereka telah memutuskan untuk membatalkan lawatan mereka selepas apa yang berlaku kepada Xenophon.
"Ini akan menjejaskan nama Malaysia di peringkat antarabangsa," katanya.
Xenophon menghadiri perhimpunan BERSIH 3.0 tahun lepas sebagai pemerhati antarabangsa dan turut menjadi sasaran gas pemedih oleh polis anti-rusuhan, yang menyuraikan peserta demonstrasi menuntut reformasi pilihan raya itu.
'Arahan dari atas'
Xenophon memberitahu ABC News 24 Australia bahawa beliau tidak menjangka akan ditahan semasa ketibaannya di Kuala Lumpur.
Katanya, pegawai imigresen berkenaan "sangat sopan" tetapi mereka memberitahunya bahawa mereka menerima "arahan dari atas" untuk menahannya.
"Saya mendapatinya luar biasa. Saya pernan ke sini sebelum ini [dan] Saya telah membuat kenyataan mengenai keadaan demokrasi di Malaysia sebelum ini.
"Tetapi pada kali ini jelas seseorang yang berkuasa dalam kerajaan Malaysia tidak mahu saya di sini," katanya.-malaysiakini
Australia mahu senatornya dibebaskan dari ditahan di Malaysia
Aussie senator detained at LCCT, awaiting deportation...
Australian senator Nick Xenophon has been detained at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), awaiting deportation for allegedly being an 'enemy of the state'.
Xenophon, who arrived at the LCCT Air Asia terminal at Sepang 6.40 this morning, has been held at the Immigration holding pen over the past four 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 call the Australian newspaper when he was left unattended in the interrogation room.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's chief of staff Ibrahim Yaacob, who rushed to the LCCT to deal with the matter, told Malaysiakini that immigration officials found Xenophon's name has been blacklisted in the immigration department's system.
"The officials did not give any other reasons, but Xenophon told us he was informed that he is the enemy of the state," Ibrahim said when contacted.
He added the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia has arrived at the airport and is trying to contact Malaysian foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin, who managed to meet with Xenophon, told Malaysiakini that the senator was detained under Section 8(3) of the Immigration Act.
“He is ok, being treated well. They provided him lunch,” he said.
To be batted back home
Xenophon is scheduled to be deported back to Melbourne tonight on an Air Asia flight at 10.30pm, Radzlan said.
According to AFP, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australian officials have been in touch with Xenophon, as well as Malaysia's foreign and home ministers, and are seeking his "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," he said in a statement.
The independent senator was part of a four-member Australian delegation which took upon themselves the task of examining the Malaysian electoral system after the Australian government rejected Anwar's request for independent observers to observe the coming general.
The three other Australian politicians are Liberal MP Mal Washer, Nationals senator John Williams, and Labor MP Steve Georganas.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with Anwar on Monday, the Election Commission and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz on Tuesday, as well as other NGOs and opposition MPs.
However, the trio has yet to leave for Malaysia.
According to Ibrahim, they have decided to cancel their visit after what happened to Xenophon.
"This will give horrible name to Malaysia internationally," he said.
In April last year, Xenophon was part of a seven-member international team commissioned by Anwar to conduct a fact-finding mission on Malaysia's electoral system.
He also attended the Bersih 3.0 rally as an international observer and was tear gassed by the riot police clamping down on demonstrators demanding electoral reforms.
Xenophon's presence in Malaysia also prompted both Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times to publish reports painting him as anti-Islam.
Both dailies then openly apologised after he threatened to take legal action as transcripts confirmed the senator, in his speech, had not referred to Islam, but Scientology.
'Orders from above'
Xenophon also 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."-malaysiakini
Aussie senator Xenophon detained at airport
According to the senator, while he was not allowed to make any telephone calls, he managed to call the Australian newspaper when he was left unattended in the interrogation room.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's chief of staff Ibrahim Yaacob, who rushed to the LCCT to deal with the matter, told Malaysiakini that immigration officials found Xenophon's name has been blacklisted in the immigration department's system.
"The officials did not give any other reasons, but Xenophon told us he was informed that he is the enemy of the state," Ibrahim said when contacted.
He added the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia has arrived at the airport and is trying to contact Malaysian foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin, who managed to meet with Xenophon, told Malaysiakini that the senator was detained under Section 8(3) of the Immigration Act.
“He is ok, being treated well. They provided him lunch,” he said.
To be batted back home
Xenophon is scheduled to be deported back to Melbourne tonight on an Air Asia flight at 10.30pm, Radzlan said.
According to AFP, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australian officials have been in touch with Xenophon, as well as Malaysia's foreign and home ministers, and are seeking his "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," he said in a statement.
The independent senator was part of a four-member Australian delegation which took upon themselves the task of examining the Malaysian electoral system after the Australian government rejected Anwar's request for independent observers to observe the coming general.
The three other Australian politicians are Liberal MP Mal Washer, Nationals senator John Williams, and Labor MP Steve Georganas.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with Anwar on Monday, the Election Commission and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz on Tuesday, as well as other NGOs and opposition MPs.
However, the trio has yet to leave for Malaysia.
According to Ibrahim, they have decided to cancel their visit after what happened to Xenophon.
"This will give horrible name to Malaysia internationally," he said.
In April last year, Xenophon was part of a seven-member international team commissioned by Anwar to conduct a fact-finding mission on Malaysia's electoral system.He also attended the Bersih 3.0 rally as an international observer and was tear gassed by the riot police clamping down on demonstrators demanding electoral reforms.
Xenophon's presence in Malaysia also prompted both Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times to publish reports painting him as anti-Islam.
Both dailies then openly apologised after he threatened to take legal action as transcripts confirmed the senator, in his speech, had not referred to Islam, but Scientology.
'Orders from above'
Xenophon also 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."-malaysiakini
Aussie senator Xenophon detained at airport
cheers.
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