Malaysian authorities arrested Hong Kong lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung at Penang International Airport to prevent him from taking part in a forum on the Tiananmen crackdown. After a brief detention, he was repatriated. Joshua Wong, a major figure in the Occupy Central movement, suffered the same fate a few days earlier. “We do not want him to jeopardise our ties with China,” said Malaysian police chief.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Malaysian airport authorities arrested Leung Kwok-hung, a pro-democracy member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, seized his travel documents and put on him a plane bound for Hong Kong.

Nicknamed ‘long hair,’ the iconic figure in former British colony’s pro-democracy movement had arrived in the country to take part in a forum on the Tiananmen crackdown in China.

Leung, through his party colleague Raphael Wong Ho-ming, said he was detained and his travel document seized as soon as he arrived at Penang International Airport.

He urged Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok and Director of Immigration Chan Kwok-ki to press the Malaysian authorities to allow him to enter the country.

Leung is the second leading Hong Kong political figure to be turned away recently from Malaysia. His detention came after Occupy student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of the student group Scholarism, was denied entry into the country earlier this week.

“We do not want him to jeopardise our ties with China,” said Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Abu Bakar Khalid to justify Wong’s expulsion.

Khalid said the purpose of 18-year-old’s visit was to explain how he had organised demonstrations in Hong Kong.

In view of this, "We were afraid that what he was going to speak about would harm our security," the police inspector said. "He was also going to speak about China. We know his anti-Chinese speeches.”

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