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SINGAPORE: A Malaysian activist\u00a0has been refused entry to Singapore\u00a0for engaging in political activism in the country, Singapore\u2019s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (Mar 27), describing her as an \u201cundesirable visitor\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fadiah Nadwa Fikri had encouraged some youths in Singapore to adopt \u201cher brand of radical advocacy\u201d, said MHA in response to CNA\u2019s query.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe encouraged them to go beyond protests, to mobilise students and different communities in Singapore, and to undertake disruptive and violent actions to support specific causes,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not tolerate foreigners getting involved in our domestic politics, nor the promotion of unlawful, violent and disruptive methods of civil protest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a post on X on Sunday, Fadiah, who was awarded a PhD by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in January,\u00a0claimed she was\u00a0deported to Malaysia and banned from entering Singapore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She described her scholarly work as\u00a0examining the intellectual history of decolonisation and anti-imperialism.<\/p>\n
Fadiah\u00a0also claimed that she had asked\u00a0Singapore\u2019s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to provide its grounds for the deportation and entry ban, but was told it \u201ccould not disclose them\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ICA\u2019s purported notice of refusal of entry, which she posted online, stated she was \u201cineligible for the issue of a pass under current immigration policies\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In another post on Instagram, Fadiah said she went to Singapore on Mar 22 at the invitation of her former supervisor to deliver a guest lecture on her PhD thesis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had also planned to visit her friends and former supervisor and his family, as well as to collect her degree certificate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was a student at NUS\u2019 Southeast Asian Studies department, according to the university\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to her social media accounts, she left a legal career in 2020 to pursue her doctoral degree. Fadiah\u00a0has been\u00a0a member of Malaysian legal rights advocacy group Lawyers for Liberty and the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), an independent non-profit in Malaysia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In March 2020, Malaysian news outlet Malay Mail reported she was investigated for alleged sedition and improper use of network facilities in relation to a demonstration organised against the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, she was under another sedition investigation for allegedly insulting the monarchy shortly after the May 2018 elections in Malaysia,\u00a0according to local media reports.<\/p>\n
The outcomes of the investigations have not been reported.<\/p>\n
CNA has reached out to Fadiah and NUS for\u00a0comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n