“Nonetheless, Sam Rainsy left Malaysia this morning and no public programmes were held during his stay here,” Wisma Putra said in a brief statement tonight.

Earlier today, Khmer Times reported that Rainsy and other leaders of his party travelled to Kuala Lumpur for a meeting, before Anwar allegedly ordered their expulsion.

The news portal also quoted Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen as saying that Anwar was not aware of Rainsy’s arrival as he “flew in on a private flight using a French passport”.

Hun Sen also said Anwar had promised him that Rainsy would “never be allowed to set foot on Malaysian soil”.

Rainsy, a co-founder of the now-banned political party Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, has been living in self-exile. He fled to France in 2015 to avoid arrest.

He was, however, convicted of several offences in absentia, including being found guilty in March last year of plotting to overthrow the government.

In 2019, Reuters reported that Rainsy was allowed to enter Malaysia.

The same year, it was also reported that PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar had invited Rainsy to meet Malaysian MPs.

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