Xenophon urges Bishop to act

Nick Xenophon has urged Julie Bishop to intervene to stop international students being intimidated by the Malaysian government.

SENATOR Nick Xenophon has urged Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop to intervene to stop international students in Australia being intimidated by the Malaysian government.

Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to speak in Adelaide tomorrow at the city's Festival of Ideas.

Mr Anwar, an outspoken critic of the Malaysian government, will talk about dissent and democracy at the event, hosted by Senator Xenophon.

But this week an email was allegedly sent from an employee of the Malaysian consulate in Sydney's email address, Shahrezan Md Sheriff, to scholarship students from Malaysia warning they would be punished if they attended.

"I would not hesitate to take stern action," the email said.

"You are smarter to think and focus on what matters rather than joining this activity that could make your hardship in maintaining good grades and earning the scholarship go down the drain."

It is understood the employee is an adviser for the Public Service Department of Malaysia and Education Malaysia, the government bodies responsible for administering scholarships for those studying in Australia.

The message was also posted on the Education Malaysia Facebook page.

Senator Xenophon yesterday wrote to Ms Bishop requesting her intervention. He also will write to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

"It was an intimidatory email, it's quite unacceptable," Senator Xenophon said yesterday.

"To threaten students in this way is just outrageous and the Australian government needs to protest in the strongest of terms."

Malaysian blog Malaysiakini reported Mr Anwar's reactions to the threats, saying they displayed the government's "siege mentality". "They do not want the students to be exposed to other views because we are often labelled as pro-communist and pro-Christians," Mr Anwar said.

A Malaysian student studying at Flinders University, who asked to remain anonymous, yesterday said the warnings were concerning. "I'm really worried about (the) phenomenon," the student said. "To do such a thing goes against the basic idea of what a democracy is."

Malaysian high commissioner Zainal Abidin Ahmad did not respond to calls for comment.