KUALA LUMPUR, 19 February: In the latest national embarrassment, Malaysia has been subjected to international ridicule with words such as ‘xenophobic’ being used to describe the recent 15-hr detention and deportation of Australian Senator Nick Xenophon.
Xenophon called his deportation “a big mistake” as it had backfired on Putrajaya, telling Australian media that it revealed how “dire and critical” the state of Malaysian democracy was.
The Sydney Morning Herald today commented that the Najib administration is frightened that Malaysians are ready for true democratic freedom.
Sydney Morning Herald international editor Peter Hartcher wrote in a commentary that half a century of Barisan Nasional rule has yet to turn the country into a mature democracy, as BN fears that a truly free and fair election would threaten its grip on power.
“This is not a threat to Malaysia’s national security, but it is a threat to the ruling party’s grip on power,” he wrote.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr has expressed his surprise and disappointment at the incident, while former Australian premier Kevin Rudd condemned Xenophon’s detention as unacceptable and urged Canberra to be “robust” in response.
What is BN hiding?
DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang said the Xenophon incident confirmed that the BN government is “authoritarian” and that Prime Minister Najib Razak is a “false democrat”.
“The whole world are now asking – what has the Election Commission and the UMNO/BN government got to hide that they are so afraid of independent foreign observers to the 13GE as having to strain foreign relations and brave international condemnation as to detain and deport Xenophon?”
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has condemned the deportation as a “gross abuse of power”, pointing out that it violated international protocol in treating lawmakers, particularly those from the Commonwealth.
“I would like to remind Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) 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,” Anwar said.
Bersih 2.0 co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan also tweeted that Putrajaya’s move to deport Xenophon was a demonstration of “paranoia” about the coming Election 2013.
Australian delegation cancels trip
Xenophon had arrived with a delegation of Australian MPs in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday to call on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz, and Election Commission officials. However upon arrival, he was detained in the Low Cost Carrier Terminal and unceremoniously deported. The Australian delegation have since cancelled their trip.
According to the official explanation by Immigration Department director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad, Xenophon was barred from entering Malaysia under section 8(3) of the Immigration Act for “making statements that allegedly tarnished Malaysia’s image.”
Alias highlighted Xenophon’s remarks about the Malaysian government being “authoritarian” in handling last April’s Bersih 3.0 rally for free and fair elections.
Mahathir: “We dont have to entertain them”
As if treating an international observer and lawmaker as an “enemy of the state” was not obnoxious enough, Malaysian officials have defended their actions. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein insisting that it was done in a lawful manner, and was “not a political move”.
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed was quick to chime in that although the Australian government was free the criticise, the Malaysia’s government had the right to enforce its laws.
“If he comes here with no good intentions, might as well not come here. If they want to criticise, they can criticise. We don’t have to entertain them,” he was quoted as saying.
The Election Commission (EC) uncharacteristically leapt to the immigration department’s defence, saying that the officials were “merely performing their duty”. EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar added that it was unjust to judge the fairness of the coming Election 2013 based on Xenophon’s expulsion. -The Rocket
