KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has made clear that there is no official travel restriction on Fahmi Reza amid claims from the artist that he had been prevented from travelling abroad.
The explanation came about following a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday, asking the police to look into the matter.
Fahmi, who bills himself as a “political graphic designer”, had said that he was stopped by immigration officers at KL Inter-national Airport 2 (KLIA2) on Saturday when he wanted to board a flight to Singapore.
But Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain indicated yesterday that there is no official travel restriction on Fahmi, though his name is on a movement monitoring list for internal records and reference purposes by the police due to ongoing investigations involving him.
“However, it must be emphasised that this list does not imply any restrictions but is part of standard monitoring procedures implemented by the authorities,” he said in a statement, as reported by Bernama.
Razarudin said the confusion occurred during the exit clearance process on Saturday, resulting in the erroneous issuance of a movement restriction order, adding that the matter is being reviewed with appropriate steps to be taken to refine existing procedures.
He said the police remained committed to protecting and respecting the freedom of movement of every Malaysian “and the individual concerned is free to travel in and out of the country as usual, subject to any regulations set by the Immigration Department and other relevant laws”.
Earlier yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that the government upholds individual freedom as long as they do not compromise national security or violate existing laws.
“As such, the police must provide further clarification regarding this matter,” said the statement.
On Saturday, Fahmi wrote on Facebook that he had wanted to go to Singapore for a two-day trip to attend a concert.
However, he said he was stopped at the immigration counter at KLIA2 and was told that Bukit Aman has not permitted him to go overseas.
Following Razarudin’s statement yesterday, Fahmi issued a response, saying that the explanation from the various authorities over the matter indicated that they were pointing fingers at one another.
“I do not see any party from the government being brave enough to take responsibility for their mistake which restricted my freedom to travel,” he said.
“It is easy to say that there is no official restriction. But the reality is I got barred. I still could not travel abroad. I have been denied my right as a citizen,” he said.
“You always tell me to use the right channel, right? OK, we meet in court,” he said.
