.jpg "nMaria Chin Abdullah addresses members of the media after her challenge to strike out an illegal assembly charge today. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Choo Choy Mayn")
KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Bersih 2.0 head Maria Chin Abdullah said she is considering challenging in court the government prohibition against her from travelling abroad.
“I’ve [begun] preliminary discussions with our lawyers,” the electoral reform activist told magazine Southeast Asia Globe in an interview published today.
Chin was recently stopped at the airport from flying to South Korea to accept a human rights award on behalf of Bersih 2.0.
Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru said the government’s purported power to impose arbitrary travel restrictions against Malaysians was a “myth”, insisting that travel bans could only be enforced in limited scenarios like bankruptcies or tax defaults.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, however, claimed that travel restrictions can be imposed on grounds of national security and against Malaysians who violate the Federal Constitution.
