Malaysian columnist claims he was 'treated like a terrorist' by Singapore immigration authorities
Photo by The Malaysian Insider
A controversial Malaysian columnist on Monday complained that he was “treated like a terrorist” by Singapore immigration authorities before they eventually refused him entry into the city-state.
Ridhuan Tee Abdullah wrote about the incident in his column for Malay-language news site Sinar Online and also published the piece titled "Know the true enemies of Islam” on his Facebook page.
“I was treated like a terrorist. My photograph and fingerprints were taken,” he said about a recent experience when he tried to visit Singapore with a friend for personal reasons.
“After more than two hours of questioning, I received a letter saying I was not allowed to go there. There was no reason given. But I am confident that it was due to my comments on the ‘ultra kiasu’,” he declared.
Tee has often used the term “ultra kiasu” to refer to the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a predominantly Chinese Malaysian political party. He has also been known to use the term on Christians and Chinese living in Malaysia as well.
In the same column, Tee also accused the “ultra kiasu” of persuading the Muslims in Malaysia to bury the Islamist political party Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and claimed that Malays in Singapore have not been given decision-making positions or posts in the police, immigration or army.
The Chinese Muslim has repeatedly criticised the Chinese minority in Malaysia, labelling them as “racist” and “ultra kiasu” for not showing gratitude towards the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Tee, a Chinese Muslim, has become a controversial figure in Malaysia for his criticism of the Chinese minority in the country, saying that they have not shown gratitude towards the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) replied to Yahoo Singapore’s query saying that they do not comment on individual cases for reasons of confidentiality.
However, they said that a visitor’s entry to Singapore is neither automatic nor a right.
“Each case is assessed on its own merits. Visitors must fulfill our entry requirements before they can be considered for entry. Those who are ineligible for a Visit Pass will be refused entry,” they added.
