Malaysian artist and activist, Fahmi Reza, found out that he was banned from leaving the country shortly before he was about to board the flight to Singapore.
In his viral Facebook post, Fahmi said that he had been waiting to fly to Singapore as he wanted to catch the show of his favourite band and that the accommodation at his friend’s place had also been arranged. When he was catching his flight scheduled at 9:30 AM, Fahmi was stopped by the immigration officers at the international departure.
He was told to wait at the office, where an officer asked for a physical copy of his boarding pass and flight ticket, despite showing the latter a soft copy of the documents.
“They had a photocopy machine in the office, but they asked me to rush out and find a photocopy machine for the documents they needed.”
It was 10 minutes before boarding time, so Fahmi rushed to get the necessary documents and returned to the office, only to be told that,
“Bukit Aman (Headquarters of PDRM) has barred you from travelling overseas.”
When asked, the officer told Fahmi that only Bukit Aman could answer him. Fahmi was then escorted out of the area, and the officers made sure he did not board the flight.
Fahmi was recently barred from entering Sabah for his drawings that criticised Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sabah, Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Musa Aman.
“It was my birthday today. Thank you, Bukit Aman and the MADANI Government, for this unforgettable birthday gift.”
In an official statement by PDRM today (June 8), Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain confirmed that the police have not imposed any travel restrictions on Fahmi.
“The police wish to clarify that we have not imposed any official travel restrictions on Fahmi at this time.”
“However, the police have placed his name on a list of people to monitor for internal reference purposes due to an ongoing investigation involving him.”
Razarudin also highlighted that being on the list does not mean a person is banned from travelling out of the country.
He also said police are reviewing the matter, and appropriate action will be taken to streamline the existing procedures.
