GEORGE TOWN, May 26 — Suaram Penang and Singapore activist Han Hui Hui have condemned the deportation of Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong from Malaysia as an undemocratic act against peaceful activism.
Suaram Penang coordinator Ong Jing Cheng said Wong, the face of the recent “umbrella” revolution in Hong Kong, was invited here to speak at a forum on non-violent activism among youths.
“It is very undemocratic for the government to deport him but this is not the first time they did this to stifle activism,” Ong said at a press conference at the Penang International Airport here today.
Ong said back in 2011, Suaram invited a French lawyer to talk about social activism and after he delivered a speech in Penang, the lawyer was detained and deported from Kuala Lumpur before he could speak at the capital.
“This showed that the government is afraid of an uprising of the youth,” said the human rights activist.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said deportations are usually done on grounds of national security, though he said he would check with the Immigration Department, which falls under his ministry, on why Wong was deported.
Ong stressed that Wong is a non-violent activist and there was no reason to dub the student leader a threat to national security.
Han, who will also be speaking at the forum on social activism tonight, said there was no reason for Wong to be deported.
“It is every Asean citizen’s rights to travel between Asean countries and yet he wasn’t allowed into Malaysia,” the Singapore activist said.
She pointed out that Wong is here to participate in a forum to talk about social activism and not politics.
She said the Malaysian government’s actions indicate a need to advocate the rights of citizens in Asean countries to speak up.
Wong was the face of the “yellow umbrella” revolution in Hong Kong which occupied some of Hong Kong’s busiest streets for 79 days as a means of civil disobedience, calling for electoral reforms.
