KUCHING: The state Immigration Department yesterday denied reports that Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali had entered the state recently.
In a brief press statement, the state Immigration Department said they had conducted checks on their system and records but did not find any record of Ibrahim entering the state.
“The state Immigration Department had conducted checks on our system and record. At the time this statement was issued, Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali did not enter the state of Sarawak.”
The statement was issued following recent claims that Ibrahim was sighted in the state.
He was said to have officiated at a Perkasa Sarawak event and held a working visit to Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Sarawak (PKMS) in Satok, Petra Jaya, here recently.
The entry of Ibrahim to the state prompted Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, to question the state Barisan Nasional’s (BN) political will and commitment to keep out racist and religious bigots from the state.
See, who is also state PKR vice chairman, said that if the state government was true to the words of Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem, to preserve the racial and religious harmony and political stability in Sarawak, Ibrahim should never be allowed to enter the state..
Human rights activist Peter John Jaban also questioned why Ibrahim was allowed to enter the state despite the insensitive and racists statements he had made in the Peninsular Malaysia.
“On the very day that the chief minister comes out with the statement to keep bigots and racists in Sarawak, Ibrahim Ali was openly parading himself around Kuching and Samarahan,” he claimed.
To show his dissatisfaction, Peter and several others were present at the Kuching International Airport departure hall on March 22, in hope of meeting Ibrahim prior to his departure, adding that many angry Sarawakians were also present at the hotel where he was supposed to have stayed for the night as a sign of protest.
Adenan, in a statement published on Saturday, said that the government would not hesitate to bar religious bigots, racists and trouble-makers from Sarawak, while those already here would be deported if they stoked racial and religious tensions.