CAMBODIAN opposition figure Sam Rainsy has landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after he was barred from boarding a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok in Paris, Reuters reports.

He told the news wire that he did not know what to expect upon arriving in Malaysia.

“No idea! Something between the red carpet and handcuffs,” he was quoted as saying.

Sam Rainsy and other leaders of his Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) are planning to return to Cambodia by land.

He had intended to cross the border with Thailand but was blocked from boarding the Thai Airways flight to Bangkok on Thursday from Paris, where he has been living in exile.

CNRP has been outlawed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Sam Rainsy’s party colleague, Mu Sochua, was detained in Malaysia on Wednesday ahead of plans to travel to Thailand in preparation for the land crossing into Cambodia.

Mu Sochua and two other opposition leaders were released the next day after an intervention by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).

Malaysia has said it does not intend to deport the Cambodians to Phnom Penh and will instead find them a third country.

However, Mu Sochua has vowed to continue with plans to return to Cambodia by land for the country’s Independence Day.

Cambodian security troops are already out in force in the capital city and along the land border crossing with Thailand at Poiplet, Reuters added. – November 9, 2019.