Xenophon detention 'unacceptable': Rudd February 17, 2013 - 9:39AM 218 reading now Kevin Rudd says the detention of Australian senator Nick Xenophon in Malaysia is unacceptable and the federal government's response should be "robust." The former prime minister says he may disagree with the independent senator "on a whole bunch of things," but the South Australian deserved to have his rights and dignity protected overseas. Senator Xenophon travelled to Malaysia as the head of an unofficial parliamentary delegation to review the country's electoral system, but was refused entry and deported. He is expected to arrive in Melbourne around 9.30am on Sunday. Mr Rudd said Australia was "a good friend" to Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, but this action warranted a response. "Detaining any member of an Australian parliament, in the way in which Senator Xenophon appears to have been detained, is just unacceptable," he told Sky News on Sunday. We are robust about our democracy and therefore we should be robust in our response to our friends in Kuala Lumpur. He said Malaysia was approaching a highly contested election, but it wasn't Australia's job to start casting aspersions about its electoral system. He was sure Foreign Minister Bob Carr had the matter well in hand.