Sam Rainsy Arrives in Malaysia
Sam Rainsy hugs his supporter during his arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture by Lim Huey Teng
- Phoung Vantha
- November 9, 2019 9:58 AM
Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy landed in Malaysia Saturday afternoon, according to Mu Sochua, deputy president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who posted a message to that effect on her Facebook page.
Upon his arrival, Rainsy was taken aside by Malaysian immigration officials at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, according to a Reuters News report.
This flight is part of his second attempt to come to Cambodia this month as he was turned away from boarding a Thai Airways International flight to Bangkok on Nov. 7.
The self-exiled political leader has been saying for months that he would come to the country on Nov. 9, which is celebrated in Cambodia as Independence Day.
Soldiers, military police and police have been deployed along the Thai-Cambodian border, doing roads checks and monitoring border crossing in Poipet and along the border in Banteay Meanchey province in case Rainsy or other former opposition leaders living abroad would attempt to return.
The Cambodian League for the Promotion And Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) has confirmed that convoys of security forces have been patrolling town and country roads in Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kompong Thom, Koh Kong, and Svay Rieng provinces.
The Cambodian authorities have so far arrested at least 50 former opposition-party members since last August, according to LICADHO.
