The Malaysian government should not move in the direction of hermit state North Korea by emulating its strict travel restrictions on citizens it considers dissidents, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) says.
Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said earlier today that the Immigration Department can bar Malaysians from leaving the country if they ridicule the government, because overseas travel is a privilege, not a right.
Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah was barred from travelling to South Korea last Sunday, where she was to receive a human rights prize on the electoral watchdog coalition’s behalf.
“Some people will undoubtedly call the government's actions increasingly authoritarian. And this anger is understandable because the travel ban is only going to create resentment among the rakyat towards the government, besides making Malaysia look bad at the international level," Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan (photo) said.
"In the current political climate, we should find ways to turn our country more democratic and free, and not move in the opposite way.
"North Korea is one of the countries that have strict travel controls on all citizens, especially on those who are considered dissidents. We shouldn't be moving towards that direction," he said in a statement.
Wan Saiful also stressed that freedom of movement is a universal human right, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 of the United Nations that was adopted by the Malaysian government.
'Everybody has the right to leave and return'
"Everybody has the right to leave the country and to return," Wan Saiful said.
He said the ruling that those who ridicule the state cannot leave the country goes against democratic principles that allow citizens to "criticise (state) policies and actions without fear of recrimination or reprisals".
Separately, opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail described the overseas travel ban as an "abuse of power".
"What is actually something that shames the country? Is it the misuse of funds or the calls for constitutional rights, for democracy and for free and fair elections?
"I think such calls are not harmful to the country," Wan Azizah said when met by reporters at the Kuala Lumpur courthouse today.
She was referring to the financial scandals that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been embroiled in, though he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Padang Serai MP N Surendran said that in a democracy, people are allowed to criticise and even ridicule the government.
"What you cannot do is you cannot do anything violent. So if the immigration comes up with something depriving people of a democratic right, it is illegal.
"Therefore, if the reason given is unlawful and irrational, it can be challenged in court," Surendran said.
