On 27 July, Heidy Quah Gaik Li, was charged with offending and insulting the authorities with a Facebook post, in which she had described the trauma faced by a refugee mother, who had just given birth to her child.
Has the government of Malaysia gone bonkers? Why do Malaysians feel as if they are treading on eggshells all the time? Have the ministers and heads of department extremely long toes? If the authorities have nothing to hide, then why do they get so upset?

Here are three names. Two are foreign, one is Malaysian. All are women. They are Heidy Quah Gaik Li, Clare Rewcastle-Brown and Valerie Azure. The first two were born in Malaysia. whilst Azure, a Russian, was stranded at KLIA, at the start of the pandemic.
These women were helping various communities in Malaysia, but soon fell foul of the authorities. They became targets for cybertroopers and trolls on social media. They were threatened, and faced questioning by the police.
By chance and not by design, these women helped the local communities, instead of waiting for assistance. Their success created too much awareness of the inadequacies of the government. They highlighted issues which Malaysians were hesitant to discuss, or did not know existed.
Instead of working together to resolve the problem, the authorities overreacted. They attempted to silence these women, with bully tactics and the law. The reasons for their insecurities are obvious. The shortcomings of the system had been exposed.
Are the authorities suffering from false pride? Can’t they overhaul the system? An informed and knowledgeable community is able to contribute to society and not be dependent on the state.
Some ministers and heads of departments probably felt humiliated, that three women had managed to expose their failures and accomplish so much with limited resources and funding. For the officials, face was important.
Heidy Quah Gaik Li
The Malaysian born Heidy founded an NGO called Refuge for the Refugees, to provide education for refugee children, when she was 18.
In June 2017, 27-year-old Quah received the ‘Queen’s Young Leaders’ medal from Queen Elizabeth II in London for her work with refugees.
Throughout this pandemic, she and her NGO has fed around 50,000 people but all hell broke loose, when in July 2020, when she described on Facebook, the deplorable conditions, the beatings and deaths in refugee detention centres.
She shared the experience of a refugee woman who had just given birth. There was a shortage of milk and diapers for the baby, and sanitary pads and private space, for the mother.
Quah was vilified on social media, insults were hurled at her, her race and her family. She was also told that she should hang herself.
Her reason for highlighting the alleged mistreatment was not to shame anyone, but because it was important the refugees are treated with dignity, and we show compassion, more humanity and less hatred.
Today, 27 July, a year after her Facebook posting, Quah was charged in a magistrate court, for making a Facebook posting on the alleged mistreatment of refugees at the Immigration detention centre in Putrajaya. The authorities deemed that the post was offensive and an insult to others.
Clare Rewcastle-Brown
Rewcastle-Brown is British, but was born in Sarawak. The investigative journalist was very concerned about the environmental impact of large-scale deforestation, and the destruction of diversity from oil palm plantation. These activities threatened the indigenous population of Sarawak, the wildlife which the jungles support and exposed the rampant corruption which the former Chief Miniser, Taib Mahmud and his cronies have perpetuated.
When her attention turned to 1MDB, the disgraced Najib Abdul Razak and Jho Low, in the world’s biggest corruption scandal, Rewcastle-Brown’s life was changed.
She was followed in the streets of London, her website was blocked and various Malaysian individuals tried to sue her, in an attempt to silence her. She was banned from Malaysia and cybertroopers threatened her. These efforts failed and when Pakatan Harapan won, in GE-14, Rewcastle-Brown’s ban from Malaysia, was overturned.
Valerie Azure
Last year, at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, governments all over the world shut their borders, in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease. Russian Valerie Azure and her young son, were returning to Thailand, when they were stranded at KLIA, because Thailand had closed its borders.
Ten days later, Azure was given leave to remain in Malaysia, and helped friends distribute food aid to an Orang Asli community in Tapah. When chatting with the village head, Azure was told about the challenges they faced. This prompted her to volunteer to teach the children of Pos Woh.
The generosity of the expatriate community in Kuala Lumpur enabled Azure to secure lorry loads of donations such as books, computers, toys and furniture.
With these, she established an educational centre at the community hall in Pos Woh. The villagers, and especially the children, adored her for making learning “fun”, but back in the headquarters of the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), or more importantly, in Putrajaya, the Minister of Rural Affairs, was fuming.
Without any funding, Azure had put the pathetic efforts of the ministry and JAKAO officials, to shame, but that was not her intention.
Its all about face
These three women helped people, but their motives were misunderstood, and they received the ire of the authorities.
We can support them by continuing to expose the truth and by highlighting their efforts on social media. We can write to our MPs and ADUNs and where possible, highlight these events to an international audience. If y
Well, well, well.
As the saying goes:
Madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!!!
Well, the Malaysian electoral must be about the maddest in the world because they have been putting the same people as MPs for decades and in the process, the country is stepping closer and closer to the abyss!!!
Malaysia, with its population of more than 30 million should not be lacking in people who are true patriots and not psuedo ones!!!
I think that Mariam should galvanise them, especially the younger ones to contest in the next GE.
The earlier this is done the better!!!
“I think that Mariam should galvanise them, especially the younger ones to contest in the next GE.”
Well said, and all.
The DAP did “galvanise them, especially the younger ones”, but that brought the old zombie Snake Pharaoh M for Memali Monster back from the dead.
Did absolutely nothing good, turned the fcuked up “opposition” into a “Dead Poets Society”, even had the DAP’s full-time necro zombie ccokscukers in photocalls at the feet of the ancient zombie playing fcuking playmates for Howard Hughes!
“I’m sure those who understand English recognised problems…”
There’s nothing magical about English.
There’s plenty of our monkeys who think they can read and understand English who are blissfully ignorant, some are excessively thick, and some have sh*t for brain.
What’s more brilliant, there’s plenty of sh*t written in English too. So there’s plenty of opportunities for you monkeys to swallow and treasure all the sh*t in English, Alhamdulilah!
There’s nothing to prove those who read and write in English are magically in the know about anything.
If so, why, with our English-blessed wonders, Malaysia is such a sh*th*le country?
Surely it cannot be just that those who read and write in “BM” are naturally something other than racially intelligent.
I’ve been blessed with meeting not too few stupid ignorant fcukheads who cannot do any “BM”, but who are delusional that they are somehow one over the rest of the “others”.
Btw, what’s happened to Old Marina of the Snake Pharaoh Memali Mo klan?
All the while, I thought she was M for Marina.
And another picked and entrusted by Malaysians to “Save Malaysia”.
This woman should inspire more.
She doesn’t appear as anybody’s saviour, nor I think made a penny from fronting a cause for (some) Malaysians because she can’t make a living losing a media job in Blighty.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=iXxLS6nkjew
Malaysians, especially Muslims and women should benefit plenty from what she says.
Absolutely good work Mariam.
Read your articles and watched your videos.
But I think should write and do the video more in BM.
I’m sure those who understand English recognised problems exist in the country but not really those who only master in BM. Aren’t they suppose to be exposed or to be informed of the wrong doings by the power-that-be and them being manipulated, cheated etc
by these powers?
“I’m sure those who understand English recognised problems…”
There’s nothing magical about English.
There’s plenty of our monkeys who think they can read and understand English who are blissfully ignorant, some are excessively thick, and some have sh*t for brain.
What’s more brilliant, there’s plenty of sh*t written in English too. So there’s plenty of opportunities for you monkeys to swallow and treasure all the sh*t in English, Alhamdulilah!
There’s nothing to prove those who read and write in English are magically in the know about anything.
If so, why, with our English-blessed wonders, Malaysia is such a sh*th*le country?
Surely it cannot be just that those who read and write in “BM” are naturally something other than racially intelligent.
I’ve been blessed with meeting not too few stupid ignorant fcukheads who cannot do any “BM”, but who are delusional that they are somehow one over the rest of the “others”.
I have been MM (not the mamak!) for ages.She is great and should be the 4th woman who exposes the pak lebais especially and the most corrupt politicians.KEEP IT UP
Out of three, only one Malaysian.
Where are Malaysians, men and women?
Malaysian men hanging around waiting for the women to do anything is common and standard behaviour for our spineless wonders,hardly a surprise.
Why is Taib Mahmud still in power if Sarawak has a white saviour?
Is it because he’s a good pal of the Snake Pharaoh M for Memali Monster, no windfall for any mercenary if the white-haired shorty is picked on?