Former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan said the fact that Malaysians have been granted political asylum abroad reflects poorly on the country's image.
Ambiga said the predicament of asylum seekers activist Ali Abdul Jalil and controversial blogger Alvin Tan shows that Malaysia is unable to guarantee the safety of someone who gives his opinion.
“It is not a question of choice. This young man, he ran away because he feared for his life and that is the basis of why he got asylum.
“The fact that the asylum was granted to him, it is actually a very bad reflection on us because what it means is, we have not provided this young man a safe place where he can express his views,” Ambiga said during her speech at the ‘Freedom of Expression’ forum yesterday.
She also took a swipe at Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin who had said "good riddance" to Ali's political asylum card saying his remark was unjust, and said the government should look to improve their processes before pointing fingers.
“Quite frankly, the government instead of criticising them should really look at our own processes and ask why these two men feel they would not be safe in this country, and had to run away and get political asylum.
“To obtain political asylum is not easy. The question now is why they had to resort to this measure - the government should ask this question,” said Ambiga.
The forum was organised by human rights NGO Hakam to celebrate UN Human Rights Day which falls on Dec 10.
Tan had fled to the US seeking asylum in September after facing charges under the Sedition Act for a Facebook posting deemed insulting to Muslims.
The blogger had in his posting made a 'buka puasa' (breaking of fast) greeting using bak kut teh - a Chinese dish usually made with pork - during Ramadan this year.
Meanwhile, social activist Ali Abdul Jalil fled to Sweden in October after four arrests and a battery of charges under the Sedition Act.
Ali said on Facebook that he fled the country fearing for his own safety.
On Monday, the Immigration Department cancelled the duo’s passports. -M'kini
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