Australia MP Nick Xenophon questions deportation from Malaysia

An Australian lawmaker deported from Kuala Lumpur said Sunday his expulsion was ordered by the “highest levels” of the Malaysian government over his push to promote free elections in the Southeast Asian nation.

Outspoken independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who was detained and barred from entering Malaysia upon landing in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, said he was whisked away to an interrogation area and told he was a security risk.

“It is clear that I was deported because of my advocacy for the pro-democracy movement in Malaysia, in particular the [electoral reform] group Bersih,” Xenophon told reporters after arriving at Melbourne airport on Sunday morning.

“It was unexpected, I was quite gobsmacked... It seems the only risk I am is to embarrassing the Malaysian government because of my advocacy for free elections in Malaysia,” he added.

Xenophon said lawyers had informed him that “this order was made at the highest levels of the Malaysian government”, with the prime minister’s office as its probable source.

“But that’s just speculation, that’s for Malaysia’s prime minister’s office to confirm or deny.”

The senator said he was put on an indefinite “do not enter” list by Malaysian officials, which he described as “ominous”.