Statement
by Lim Kit Siang - Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong
in Petaling Jaya
on Wednesday 7th November 1996

Government’s ban, detention and deportation of Renato Constantino Jr, Convenor of the first APCET meeting in Manila most deplorable

The Government’s ban, detention and deportation of Renato Constantino Jr, the convenor for the first Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor (APCET) in Manila in 1994, is most deplorable.

Even if the Malaysian government has decided to ban the Second APCET Conference scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday, this is no reason for banning the entry of Renato Constantino - as if his entry would pose a threat to the security or well-being of Malaysia.

I had tried to contact the Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Megat Junid Megat Ayub this morning on the deportation of Renato Constantino, who was detained by the Malaysian Immigration officials last night when he flew into Kuala Lumpur from the Philippines to be deported to Manila on the first available flight this morning, but had not been successful.

Constantino, who is a steering committee member of the Asia-Pacific Coalition for East imor, had apparently anticipated the possibility of his being denied entry into Malaysia, and had prepared a statement prior to his departure from Manila stating that his disappointment at the denial of his entry “is a small price to pay compared to what both Malaysia and Indonesia stand to lose and what the East Timorese will reap”.

In his statement anticipatory of denial of entry into Malaysia, Constantino also said: “The human rights of a people cannot simply be measured in dollars and cents nor in terms of the displeasure of a powerful bully. The right of a people to freely determine their own future can never be supplanted by profits and political expediency.”

Yesterday, the attempt by the DAP MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Guan Eng to move an emergency motion in Parliament to debate the East Timor issue and the government ban on the Second APCET Conference was also rejected.

It is most regrettable that the Malaysian Government is not able to make a clear distinction between the views of the government on East Timor and that of Malaysians who want to see a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the 21-year East Timor conflict.

The Malaysian government ban on Constantino is a copy of the blanket ban imposed by the Fidel Ramos administration of the Philippines against 100 prominent international figures and NGO activists from entry into the Philippines during the 18-nation APEC summit in Manila on November 25 - and is an aspect of ASEAN which the ASEAN people have no reason to be proud.

As Megat had told the press on Monday that some 120 foreign participants are scheduled to attend the Second APCET Conference in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, the Malaysian Government may have prepared its own “blacklist” of over 100 foreigners to ban from entry into Malaysia this week.

This will be most unfortunate to the good international image of Malaysia and the Government should desist from any such ban.

(7/11/96)