The Malaysian diaspora in Australia has formed a new progressive movement amid Putrajaya's grip on official student groups overseas.
 
Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Australia chairperson Praveen Nagappan said the newly-formed Malaysian Progressives in Australia (Mpoz) aims to fill the void by the official Malaysian Students' Council of Australia (Masca).
 
"Frustrated with their voices and viewpoints not being heard, a group of bold and progressive thinking students have proceeded to form their own organisation, to a certain degree unshackling themselves. 
 
"It is a giant leap for them to break away from the fear culture," he said in a statement.
 
Masca comes under the purview of the Malaysian Education Ministry and is represented by the Malaysian consulate.
 
It had in April retracted its invitation to DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua to speak at its annual conference after receiving pressure from the government.
 
Meanwhile, Mpoz in a statement said the movement's goal is to encourage critical political reform among overseas Malaysians.
 
For its inauguration, the movement said it will host an entourage of Malaysian MPs and state assemblypersons who will be visiting several cities including Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide.
 
"Mpoz delegates in each of these cities will be hosting the visiting MPs and state assemblypersons, who will be meeting the Malaysian Diaspora in each city through a series of events which are open to the public including forums, lectures and town hall meetings," it said.
 
Among those in the entourage are MPs Rafizi Ramli (Pandan) and Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Baru) as well as state assemblypersons Nik Nazmi Nik Ahamd (Seri Setia) and Lee Chean Chung (Semambu) and human rights lawyer Melissa Sasidaran.
 
Information about the events can be found here .