Fahmi Reza finds out he's barred from overseas travel on his birthday

Summary

• Fahmi Reza says he has been barred from overseas travel, claiming that an immigration officer at the airport told him that the police prohibited him from leaving the country.

• Fahmi, whose birthday is today, says he was told to ask Bukit Aman, the federal police headquarters, for the reason.

Activist and graphic artist Fahmi Reza, whose birthday is today, said he has been barred from overseas travel.

He claimed that an immigration officer at the airport told him that the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters had not granted him permission to leave the country.

When he asked the officer for the reason, he was told to ask Bukit Aman.

Fahmi said he was planning to go to Singapore to attend a concert where two of his favourite punk bands were performing.

“What was my crime? Only the police at Bukit Aman and the Madani government can answer that.

“All I did was create artwork criticising the appointment of Musa Aman (as the Sabah governor) and criticise the Madani government.

“Last week, I was blacklisted and barred from entering Sabah. This week, I’m blacklisted again - barred from leaving the country.

“Thank you, Bukit Aman and the Madani government, for the unforgettable birthday present,” he said in a post on Facebook.

The post included an image of him at KLIA2 with his luggage.

Deported from Sabah

Last week, he was denied entry into Sabah and was deported upon arrival at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

He was presented with a refusal of entry notice on arrival, and he claimed that the order came from the Sabah Chief Minister’s Office.

Late last December, the artist-activist was arrested in Sabah for putting up caricatures that painted Musa Aman as a corrupt individual.

He was subsequently deported from the state in early January.

In 2018, Musa was slapped with 46 criminal charges linked to timber concession contracts in the state.

However, he was acquitted and discharged of all charges when prosecutors withdrew the case against him in June 2020.

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