KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — DAP’s Tony Pua will file for a judicial review against an order banning him from travelling out of the country, the party’s legal bureau chief and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said today.

Calling the ban arbitrary and a violation of the Petaling Jaya Utara MP’s rights, Gobind said he will first give the authorities seven days to respond to a request for an explanation on why the ban was imposed.

“It has been 24 hours and we have yet to get any explanation as to why he (Pua) had been barred from leaving the country.

“We will give them seven days to respond. Then we will file for application for a judicial review to challenge it,” Gobind told reporters at the party’s headquarters here.

Pua, who was stopped by the Immigration Department yesterday from leaving to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, had said the move was clearly an abuse of power to deny him his right to leave the country without a valid reason.

Commenting on the matter, Gobind demanded Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to state immediately if Pua is the suspect named as the opposition lawmaker involved in an alleged conspiracy to use the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal to topple Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“I ask the IGP if he got the name of the MP, then just name him. We want to know. We don't have anything to hide so we won't run, we are ready to face them.

“I as the legal bureau chief will personally ensure that we will bring him to you if its true,” he said.

Pua is among the two opposition MPs implicated in a so-called conspiracy to overthrow Najib.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP was said to be one of the suspects who met with former PetroSaudi International (PSI) executive Xavier Justo in Singapore to purchase leaked and allegedly tampered documents of a joint-venture between the Abu Dhabi-based company and debt-riddled state-owned fund 1MDB.

Justo is currently under arrest in Thailand where he is facing charges of blackmail.

But the Puchong MP said Khalid's statement that an opposition MP had met Justo in Singapore is questionable as the Malaysian police have yet to meet with the former PSI executive to record his statement.

“We want to know where he (Khalid) got his information from when you haven't even met Justo?”

Pua today again denied he had ever met Justo. He also pointed out that the Thai police confirmed that the leaked documents were never tampered with, and that they were sold in their original form.

Gobind said since the allegation ― that there is a conspiracy to unseat Najib through undemocratic means ― is serious, he asked why have the IGP not make his move and call in the suspects for questioning.

The Puchong MP said unless he intends to do so, the authorities should not resort to harassment tactics like restricting an MP’s movement.