A Liberal candidate who fled Vietnam's communist regime on a fishing boat to seek asylum and now wants to stop the boats has denied being a hypocrite.

John Nguyen, the Liberal candidate for the seat of Chisholm, said he had been ''viciously attacked'' on phone, email and social media by hundreds of people calling him a hypocrite.

John Nguyen is campaigning as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Chisholm. Credit:Mal Fairclough

The 39-year-old fled Vietnam with his grandparents and siblings in 1979 and spent three days and nights on a fishing boat before landing on a Malaysian island.