This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 8, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian activist Mugiyanto, who was scheduled to speak at Bersih 2.0’s Yellow Mania Festival last night, was deported yesterday afternoon, the electoral reform group said on its Twitter account. 

Mugiyanto was an activist during Indonesia’s Reformasi, the country’ 1997 political reform movement, and had been involved in organising student protests which eventually led to the fall of then-president Suharto’s government. 

“BREAKING: Panelis forum #YellowMania malam ini, Sdr Mugiyanto ditahan di KLIA2 dan dihantar pulang,” Bersih 2.0 tweeted from its account handle @bersih2 (#YellowMania forum panelist Mugiyanto was detained at klia2 and sent home).  

Bersih 2.0 secretariat manager Mandeep Singh tweeted that the forum would continue despite the activist’s deportation. 

“Forum malam ini akan diteruskan walaupun @yantomugi dihantar pulang. Kami akan ber-skype dengan beliau” (The forum tonight will continue even though [Mugiyanto] has been deported. We will Skype with him). 

In a press statement, Bersih 2.0 criticised the activist’s deportation, calling it a “childish” move by the authorities.  

The forum is among an array of events at the ongoing Yellow Mania Festival from Jan 6 to 10 at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

Bersih 2.0 said it was holding the festival to raise more awareness about democratic reforms and to thank supporters of its Bersih 4 rally held in August last year. — The Malaysian Insider