As I read the story of Nur Hashidayatti Abu Hassan and how she was detained for 15 hours in the small cramped room by British Immigration with only one drink of water, I was reminded of a similar incident closer to home.

The woman in question was coming to Malaysia to visit someone close to her. Much like Nur Hashidayatti who was visiting her sister in the UK.

As a visitor on a social visit pass, she was entitled to stay for 30 days. She has a stable job in her home country, thus there was no question of her coming to Malaysia with the intention of overstaying. Yet, she was detained by the Malaysian immigration authorities for 13 hours without food nor water.

The reason for denying her entry: she was blacklisted just because her boyfriend happens to be ISA detainee, Tian Chua. She is Mabel Au and deemed a threat to 'national security'.

Those of us who were shocked to read about the ill treatment of Nur Hashidayatti (and this includes the Malaysian authorities who complained to the British High Commissioner here in Malaysia) would do well to remind themselves of the incident involving Mabel Au.

If we do not see the travesty in not allowing a foreigner to visit her Malaysian boyfriend here in Malaysia, then we should not rail against other countries for not allowing Malaysians to visit their loved ones overseas. Presumably, Nur Hashidayatti was seen as an undesirable visitor for whatever reasons.