PETALING JAYA: Fahmi Reza claims his rights as a citizen have been denied and has criticised the government's denial that a travel ban was imposed on him.
"No party from the government is brave enough to take responsibility for their mistake, which restricted my freedom to travel," he said in a statement on Sunday (June 8).
"It is easy to say that there is no official restriction. But the reality is I was barred (from travelling)… I have been denied my right as a citizen.
" You barred me, restricted me, wasted my time and money, distanced (yourself from) responsibility and did not admit to it," he said.
The controversial graphic artist and activist said he had read the responses of various authorities who kept pointing fingers at one another and called them out for claiming there were no official travel restrictions imposed on him.
He also said the people must be brave and challenge them.
"If the people are at fault, you do not wait long to drag us to court. Now it is the people's turn.
"You always use the right channel, right? Okay, we will meet in court," he said.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had said that no travel ban was imposed on Fahmi, adding that his name had only been placed on the police's movement monitoring list for internal reference over an ongoing investigation.
"This listing does not amount to a travel ban. It is part of standard monitoring procedures commonly carried out by authorities," he said in a statement on Sunday (June 8).
He said that there was some confusion over the matter during the verification process at an Immigration checkpoint on Saturday (June 7).
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a statement on Sunday, said the government upholds individual freedoms as long as they do not threaten national security or breach existing laws and called on the police to provide a full explanation.
Fahmi had claimed that he was prevented from boarding a flight to Singapore. He was told that Bukit Aman had barred him from leaving the country and was later escorted out of the departure hall.
The incident followed an earlier travel restriction imposed by Sabah authorities on May 29, when Fahmi was denied entry into the state, allegedly over a caricature criticising the appointment of Tun Musa Aman as Sabah's Yang di-Pertua Negeri (TYT).
