Nurul Izzah confirms meeting taking place between MPs and Cambodian opposition leader

PETALING JAYA: PKR's Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar (pic) has confirmed that self-exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy will meet MPs in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12).

Nurul Izzah confirmed that her letter inviting Rainsy, his wife and fellow opposition politician Tioulong Saumura – which made its rounds on social media – was authentic, and denied that PKR was keeping the meeting under wraps.

"Yes, the contents (of the letter) are legit. The meeting will take place in Parliament.

"The agenda is clearly stated in the letter. Kindly refer to the contents instead of stating that we are (keeping) mum," she said in a text message on Monday (Nov 11).

This came after The Star reported on Monday (Nov 11) that the PKR leadership was silent on the matter after the letter dated Nov 9 sent by Nurul Izzah to Rainsy became available online.

The invitation letter was posted by Seng Mengbunrong, a young Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) activist, on his Twitter account Saturday (Nov 9).

"We look forward to discussing the way forward in pursuing the best socio-developmental pathways for both Malaysia and Cambodia," Nurul Izzah stated in the letter.

The meeting between Malaysian MPs, Saumura and Rainsy, the acting president of the banned CNRP, is scheduled between noon and 1pm at Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12).

Nurul Izzah told a news portal that the meeting is an "informal get-together with Malaysian legislators" and that they will be following the official position as stated by the Foreign Ministry.

Rainsy, 70, is believed to have flown into Malaysia from Paris on Saturday (Nov 9).

He was originally supposed to cross into Cambodia from Thailand that day with other CNRP leaders.

However, he was refused permission to board a Thai Airways plane from Paris earlier on Thursday (Nov 7).

After arriving in Kuala Lumpur, Rainsy did not say whether he still planned to head home.

On Friday (Nov 8), the Immigration Department briefly detained another CNRP leader, Mu Sochua, and two other activists before releasing and allowing them to enter Malaysia.

The detention came ahead of a planned return by CNRP leaders, including Rainsy and Sochua to Cambodia to lead demonstrations against its prime minister Hun Sen.

PKR's Senator Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff said that when party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was jailed in 2000, Saumura came to visit him as a sign of solidarity.

Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the government had yet to decide on the request from its Cambodian counterpart to deport several of its citizens, including Sochua.

He said as they did not come to Malaysia on a Cambodian passport, Malaysia could not accede to the request, and that it had informed Cambodia about this.

Sochua has an American passport while Rainsy and Saumura have French citizenship.