Imran Khan (below) was stopped from Malaysia on Aug 12 at the KL
International Airport (KLIA) on the grounds that he poses a threat to national security, and was held for about 12 hours before he was deported.
Recalling the episode which he called both "humiliating and enlightening", Imran wrote that he had come to Malaysia to gatherevidence to support a case filed by Hindraf chairperson-in-exile P Waytha Moorthy.
"My pending arrival in Malaysia had received advance publicity from local police who had sought to intimidate organisers of the venue where I was expected to meet potential claimants.
"There was, therefore, some trepidation when I presented myself to the immigration desk on arrival at KLIA," wrote Imran.
His ordeal began at this point. After his passport was inspected, he was whisked away to the immigration office without explanation
Away from the brightly-lit and well-polished corridors of the terminal, Imran described the immigration office as a far less opulent, punctuated with shouts of immigration officers from behind the desk for those refused entry to come forward and explain themselves.
Counsel tagged 'prohibited immigrant'
Imran said he was never given a reason for refusing him entry, other than the directive had come from the very top. He would later find out while on transit in Dubai that he had been classified as a "prohibited immigrant".
"I still have no idea what that means and despite the involvement of the British consulate and the British government cabinet office, I found myself stranded, waiting for my return flight.
"It was clear that the decision was a political one - I had been refused entry to stop me doing work that the government of Malaysia did not want to take place," he wrote.
According to Imran, thousands were expected to meet him at meetings in Malaysia and witness how government policies have affected the lives of Malaysians of Indian origin.
"Yet, like many governments which seek to stifle opposition, its actions are often irrational because, while refusing me entry into the country, it had allowed my colleague who had been travelling with me to do so.
"He is now meeting all those potential claimants and collecting
evidence to progress the claim," he said, referring to his colleagueSuresh Grover (right) who spent five days in Malaysia.
Different Malaysia from its brochures
Meanwhile, Imran said that he is now even more determined to ensure that the issues highlighted in the case are raised beyond Malaysia's borders.
"Like many in Britain, I had only thought of Malaysia as the country advertised in brochures. Every day, buses pass my office window in central London emblazoned with adverts encouraging us to visit Malaysia, illustrated with montages of sun and sea.
"Few people are likely look beyond that image or get to see the reality that exists underneath. For me, a country that, on the face of it, is engaged in widespread, institutional discrimination and human rights abuses should rightly be condemned. Even more so when it refuses its citizens access to legal representation," said Imran as his parting shot.
In 2007, Watha Moorthy filed a 4 trillion British pound (RM20 trillion) lawsuit against the British government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and leaving them at the hands of a Malay-Muslim government after independence in 1957, which
violated their rights and marginalised the community.
Following this, Hindraf leaders sought to lead a large march to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in order to petitionthe British Queen to appoint a Queen's Counsel to represent them.
This culminated in the Nov 25, 2007 Hindraf rallywhich saw tens of thousands of ethnic Indians flooding the streets of Kuala Lumpur, only to be met with riot police, tear gas and trucks firing chemical-laced water.
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