Tony Pua barred from leaving the country

KUALA LUMPUR: Two opposition MPs and The Edge media group owner Datuk Tong Kooi Ong have been barred from leaving the country.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua who was scheduled to fly to Jogjakarta said he was shocked to learn he was not allowed to leave the country. The other barred MP is Rafizi Ramli (Pandan).
Speaking at a press conference, he said he was stopped by two immigration officers at the immigration counter who informed him that he is not allowed to leave the country following instructions from "above".
"No apparent reason was given to me but they did inform me that I can go to the Home Ministry's security division and appeal about the barring.
"I was not informed by any party about the barring prior to this nor was I called up by any authority to assist in any investigation," he said.
Pua believes that it this could be the result of him being critical about the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fiasco.
Pua then revealed that he is looking at the possibility of filing a suit against the government for denying his rights.
Asked if he has met either former PetroSaudi executive Andre Xavier Justo or former Sarawak Tribune editor Lester Melanyi, Pua dismissed the claim and stressed he had no knowledge about both individuals prior to all the recent incidents.
"I, however, have met Sarawak Report editor-in-chief Clare Rewcastle Brown several times – in Singapore, in London and even Malaysia – but I certainly have not met Justo or Lester before," he said.
Rafizi, who is also a PKR vice-president said he found out about his status after checking the official Immigration Department website, which displayed the similar status with that of Pua.
"I was informed by Pua that he was barred from leaving the country this afternoon for his involvement in the 1MDB issue.
"Following that, I checked my status on the website and found that I was similarly blacklisted. Therefore, I suspect I am barred as well from leaving the country," he said in a statement yesterday.
It was learnt that Tong had also been blacklisted by the department and barred from leaving the country.
The company publishes The Edge Financial Daily and The Edge Weekly, and has been issued a show-cause letter by the Home Ministry for its coverage of the 1MDB controversy.