JUDGMENT

The Facts

[1] The appellant was the chairperson of a non-Governmental organisation (NGO) known as "Bersih 2.0" and was a holder of a valid Malaysian passport. On 15 May 2016, after collecting her boarding pass at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for a flight to South Korea, she was stopped by the immigration authorities and was told that there was a travel ban imposed on her and that she could not leave the country.

[2] No reason was given to the appellant for the travel ban, before or after the incident. The reason was only disclosed in the 1st respondents affidavit filed in response to the present judicial review proceedings commenced by the appellant in the High Court on 28 July 2016.

[3] In gist, it was deposed to in the affidavit that on the 1st respondents instruction, the appellant was blacklisted from leaving the country for a period of up to three years starting from 6 January 2016. The instruction was made pursuant to a circular titled Pekeliling Imigresen Malaysia Terhad Bil 3 Tahun 2015. The ground for the blacklisting was that the appellant had disparaged the Government of Malaysia ("Memburukkan Kerajaan Malaysia") at different forums and illegal assemblies.