Fadiah Nadwa Fikri completed her PhD at the National University of Singapore's Southeast Asian Studies department. (Photo: Front Line Defenders)

Singapore denies entry to Malaysian activist over involvement in domestic politics, promotion of unlawful civil protest

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, who received her PhD from the National University of Singapore in January, encouraged some youths in Singapore to adopt her brand of radical advocacy, said Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday (Mar 27). It called her an “undesirable visitor”.

27 Mar 2026, 03:21 by Izzah Aqilah Norman · CNA · Join

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SINGAPORE: A Malaysian activist has been refused entry to Singapore for engaging in political activism in the country, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (Mar 27), describing her as an “undesirable visitor”.

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri had encouraged some youths in Singapore to adopt “her brand of radical advocacy”, said MHA in response to CNA’s query.

“She encouraged them to go beyond protests, to mobilise students and different communities in Singapore, and to undertake disruptive and violent actions to support specific causes,” the ministry said.

“We will not tolerate foreigners getting involved in our domestic politics, nor the promotion of unlawful, violent and disruptive methods of civil protest.”

In a post on X on Sunday, Fadiah, who was awarded a PhD by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in January, claimed she was deported to Malaysia and banned from entering Singapore.

She described her scholarly work as examining the intellectual history of decolonisation and anti-imperialism.

Fadiah also claimed that she had asked Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to provide its grounds for the deportation and entry ban, but was told that it “could not disclose them”.

ICA’s purported notice of refusal of entry, which she posted online, stated she was “ineligible for the issue of a pass under current immigration policies”.

In another post on Instagram, Fadiah said that she went to Singapore on Mar 22 on an invitation by her former supervisor to deliver a guest lecture on her PhD thesis.

She had also planned to visit her friends and former supervisor and his family, as well as to collect her degree certificate.

She was a student at NUS’ Southeast Asian Studies department, according to the university’s website.

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