PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar has confirmed that self-exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy will meet MPs in the Malaysian Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12).
Ms Nurul Izzah confirmed that her letter inviting Mr 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.
This came after The Star reported on Monday that the PKR leadership was silent on the matter after the letter dated Nov 9 sent by Ms Nurul Izzah to Mr Rainsy surfaced online.
The invitation letter was posted by Mr Seng Mengbunrong, a young Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) activist, on his Twitter account last Saturday.
"We look forward to discussing the way forward in pursuing the best socio-developmental pathways for both Malaysia and Cambodia," Ms Nurul Izzah stated in the letter.
The meeting between Malaysian MPs, Ms Saumura and Mr Rainsy, the acting president of the banned CNRP, is scheduled between noon and 1pm in Parliament on Tuesday.
Ms 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.
Mr Rainsy, 70, is believed to have flown into Malaysia from Paris last Saturday.
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.
After arriving in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Rainsy did not say whether he still planned to head home.
Last Friday, the Immigration Department briefly detained another CNRP leader, Ms 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 Mr Rainsy and Mr Sochua to Cambodia to lead demonstrations against its prime minister Mr Hun Sen.
PKR Senator Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff said that when party president Anwar Ibrahim was jailed in 2000, Ms Saumura came to visit him as a sign of solidarity.
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the government had yet to decide on the request from its Cambodian counterpart to deport several of its citizens, including Ms 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.
Ms Sochua has an American passport while Mr Rainsy and Ms Saumura have French citizenship.
