Civil society organisation MANDIRI has accused authorities of subjecting its leadership to continued intimidation after claiming that travel restrictions were imposed on its executive director and that several personal and organisational bank accounts were subsequently frozen.
In a statement, MANDIRI said its executive director was informed last week that he had been placed under restrictions preventing him from leaving the country.
The organisation said the development came shortly after its finance director, Dobby Chew, encountered difficulties when returning from Jakarta. According to MANDIRI, Chew was told that a restriction had been imposed by Bukit Aman before he was eventually allowed to enter Malaysia.
MANDIRI claimed neither director had been contacted by the authorities or given an explanation for the alleged restrictions.
The organisation further said on Thursday that the personal bank accounts belonging to both directors had been frozen.
It added that bank accounts belonging to MANDIRI and Hayat, a non-governmental organisation managed by Chew, had also been blocked.
“We have never once been contacted regarding these restrictions. We have also never been called in for any investigation,” MANDIRI said.
The group urged the authorities to explain the basis for the measures and to immediately lift the restrictions.
