A Taiwanese environmental activist has been barred from entering Malaysia late last night and was deported this afternoon.

Grace Kan, who visited Pengerang in Johor for the anti-Rapid campaign on last July, was detained by Immigration authorities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for more than 15 hours.

Minford Yu, the secretary of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, confirmed that Kan was deported back to Taiwan at 3.25pm today.

NONE Sources have told Malaysiakini that Kan arrived at the airport at 10.30pm last night to attend the Third Southeast Asian Marine Mammal Symposium (Seamam III) in Langkawi.

However, she was immediately detained by Immigration officials upon arrival as her name is on the blacklist due to her activities in Malaysia last year, which are deemed to have tarnished the image of Malaysia.

Kan ( above ) was reportedly well treated during her detention although her mobile phone was confiscated and kept by the authorities, making her uncontactable.

Yu said that while Taiwan respects the decision by the Malaysia's Immigration Department to deport Kan, he expressed regret over the incident.

Kan is the second foreign activist to be barred from entering the country this year. Last month, Australian senator Nick Xenophon was deported after being held for 15 hours at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) for allegedly being an 'enemy of the state'.

Taiwanese petrochemical firm plans to invest

Villagers, mostly fisherfolks, in Pengerang are protesting against a massive oil refinery being built in their area, fearing it would adversely impact the environment, their health and their livelihood.

A major Taiwanese company, Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology, is planning to invest in the mega project, called the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC).

Kan is among the Taiwanese environmentalists who opposed the move by Kuokuang.

azlan PIPC, which occupies an 8,100-hectare area will house several oil and related industries such as oil refineries as well as petrochemical and liquefied natural gas terminals in Pengerang.

It is expected to make Pengerang a regional oil and gas industry hub.

Also to be set up under the PIPC is national oil company Petronas’ integrated petromical refinery plant.

Dialog Bhd and its partner Royal Vopak, and the Johor state government are also building the RM5 billion Pengerang Independent Deepwater Petroleum Terminal in the area.