Singapore denies entry to Malaysian activist over involvement in domestic politics, promotion of unlawful civil protest

SINGAPORE: A Malaysian activist has been refused entry to Singapore for engaging in political activism in the country, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (Mar 27), describing her as an “undesirable visitor”.

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri had encouraged some youths in Singapore to adopt “her brand of radical advocacy”, said MHA in response to CNA’s query.

“She 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,” the ministry said.

“We will not tolerate foreigners getting involved in our domestic politics, nor the promotion of unlawful, violent and disruptive methods of civil protest.” 

In a post on X on Sunday, Fadiah, who was awarded a PhD by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in January, claimed she was deported to Malaysia and banned from entering Singapore. 

She described her scholarly work as examining the intellectual history of decolonisation and anti-imperialism.

Fadiah also claimed that she had asked Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to provide its grounds for the deportation and entry ban, but was told it “could not disclose them”. 

ICA’s purported notice of refusal of entry, which she posted online, stated she was “ineligible for the issue of a pass under current immigration policies”. 

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. 

She had also planned to visit her friends and former supervisor and his family, as well as to collect her degree certificate. 

She was a student at NUS’ Southeast Asian Studies department, according to the university’s website. 

According to her social media accounts, she left a legal career in 2020 to pursue her doctoral degree. Fadiah has been a 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. 

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. 

At the time, she was under another sedition investigation for allegedly insulting the monarchy shortly after the May 2018 elections in Malaysia, according to local media reports.

The outcomes of the investigations have not been reported.

CNA has reached out to Fadiah and NUS for comment.