Malaysian immigration authorities on Saturday detained an Australian senator who flew into Kuala Lumpur to speak with officials about upcoming Malaysian elections.
The independent senator, Nick Xenophon, has made statements considered critical of Malaysia’s government ahead of general elections that must be held before the end of June.
The South Australia state senator had planned to meet next week with Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as well as a Cabinet minister and electoral authorities to discuss polling transparency issues.
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“Apparently I’m persona non grata, I’m said to be a security risk,” Mr. Xenophon told
Malaysian Home Ministry representatives could not immediately be reached.
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr called for the immediate release of Mr. Xenophon, who is expected to be deported Saturday night.
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“Senator Xenophon’s detention is a surprising and disappointing act from a country with which Australia routinely maintains strong diplomatic relations,” Mr. Carr said in a statement.
Australia’s high commissioner to Malaysia was able to meet with Mr. Xenophon at the airport holding room, along with Anwar’s chief of staff, Ibrahim Yaacob.
“This is a black mark for Malaysia,” Mr. Ibrahim said. “Where is the fair play, where is the democracy? It’s not as if the senator is a terrorist.”
Three other Australian politicians were scheduled to travel to Malaysia to join Mr. Xenophon in the meetings. Senator John Williams, a member of the group, told Australia’s ABC News they were cancelling the trip following Mr. Xenophon’s detention.
Mr. Xenophon visited Kuala Lumpur last year as a foreign observer at a rally where police used tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of Malaysians who demanded sweeping changes to electoral policies they say are manipulated to favour Prime Minister Najib Razak’s long-ruling coalition.
Malaysia’s government has maintained that the country’s electoral system is free and fair. Officials have promised to boost transparency in this year’s polls by allowing Malaysians living overseas to cast postal ballots, lengthening election campaign periods and bolstering security to prevent voter fraud.
But opposition activists say authorities have not done enough to address concerns over discrepancies in voter registration rolls, vote-buying and the use of government-controlled news media to denounce the opposition.
The upcoming elections are expected to be a close fight between Mr. Najib’s National Front coalition, which has governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, and opposition leader Anwar’s three-party alliance.
The National Front suffered its worst performance in 2008 elections, when it lost more than a third of the seats in Parliament amid public complaints about corruption and racial discrimination.