The Malaysian government has been ill advised to ban the entry of Vaiko, the general secretary of MDMK (Marumalrchi Dravida Munnetra Kazham) political party, Tamil Nadu, India.

While Zakir Naik has been allowed to roam the country by giving incendiary speeches, a democrat and a former Indian parliamentarian, Vaiko, has been denied entry on flimsy reasons.

Apart from using hearsay information, the Malaysian authorities have no grounds to link Vaiko with any terrorist movement.

Supporting the rightful cause of Sri Lankan Tamils does not mean that he was the supporter of the Tamils armed group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE).

Malaysia’s blatant disregard for the free entry of travellers makes a mockery of its attempt to attract tourists and others to the country.

Vaiko was denied entry into Malaysia on June 9, 2017, at about 6.30 am at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

He was invited to attend the wedding reception of my daughter, Gayatri, scheduled to take place at a hotel in Seberang Jaya, Penang, on June 10, 2017.

Vaiko, a veteran Tamil Nadu politician and a former member of parliament, is considered a respected and a seasoned politician in Tamil Nadu.

He is well known for his support of the Tamil freedom movement in Sri Lanka and for his relentless criticisms against the Sinhala dominated government for its gross abuse of Tamil human rights.

He came to Malaysia in 2014 and 2015, to participate in two international conferences on Tamil identity and the state of human rights in Sri Lanka.

In 2015, before his arrival in Malaysia, due to complaints lodged by the Sri Lankan High Commission, he was denied entry but allowed later after the intervention of Minister of Home Affairs, Zahid Hamidi.

However, this time he was not very lucky, as the Malaysian government stood its ground in not allowing Vaiko to gain entry into the country. Even the last minute appeals made to Zahid were in vain.

Vaiko was reboarded on Malaysian Airlines flight to Chennai at 9.30 pm yesterday.

Upon hearing that Vaiko has been banned in Malaysia, his supporters took to the streets in anger in Chennai. There was a massive demonstration in front the Malaysian Consulate office in Chennai yesterday evening.

Prominent Indian politicians took the Malaysian authorities to task for denying entry to Vaiko. They have urged the government of Modi to view India’s relationship with Malaysia for humiliating a person like Vaiko who has a good reputation in Tamil circles.

Some circles in India are disgusted with the Malaysian government for banning Vaiko who has no links with any terrorist movement.

He is considered as an ardent supporter of the rights of Tamils and a person who advocated self-government for Tamils.

He might have supported the defunct LTTE on some matters, but he is a thorough democrat who strongly believes that political negotiations are the best ways to resolve long-standing ethnic and religious conflicts.

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.