Baru Bian
KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) state chairman Baru Bian has accused the state government of issuing entry bans without legal basis.
Speaking at a press conference at the party’s headquarters here yesterday, he said this clearly showed that they have no qualms about abusing the law for their own purposes.
He said the latest opposition leader from Peninsular Malaysia to be barred from entering Sarawak was Dr Afif Baharudin, the deputy Youth chief of PKR, who was refused entry at the Kuching International Airport on Wednesday night.
With Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem trying to justify the bans by saying that the opposition leaders would be free to enter the state after the state election, it meant that the Chief Minister admitted that the bans had no legal basis and were done purely for political reasons, he argued.
He challenged the state government to show proof that the banned opposition leaders from Peninsular Malaysia are ‘unsavoury’ as it claimed.
“How can a person become unsavoury before the elections and then not so after the election? I am sure the Chief Minister is aware that the political ban contravenes the Immigration Act, which provides that a person cannot be barred from entering if he or she is coming for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity,” he reasoned.
“If these people are unsavoury or a threat to peace and harmony as the state leaders claimed, they should have been charged with many offences in Peninsular Malaysia and so far there are no charges against them,” he added.
He suggested that the real reason for the ban was that Barisan Nasional (BN) parties did not want to hear about the success stories of Pakatan Harapan in Selangor and Penang, to keep the people ignorant and uneducated so they could be easily manipulated.
“The Chief Minister is aware that we have always supported our immigration rights and this is clearly stated in our manifesto and other policy documents as we have been consistent in speaking up for the rights of Sarawak as provided under the Malaysia Agreement 1963. Our concern is the abuse of these rights by the BN leaders for their political gain,” he said.
Baru also commented on the entry ban on Umno division chief Datuk Jamal Yunos yesterday, which he regarded as a stunt to please the Sarawak public.
“Everyone knows what type of person Jamal is as he is a troublemaker and through his actions in the past he has proven to be a liability for BN. It was not surprising why he was banned from entering Sarawak,” he pointed out.
He suggested that BN leaders like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak should also be banned from entering the state if the state government wished to show that it is not abusing its power.
State PKR vice chairman See Chee How, members of PKR Youth wing and other party leaders were at the press conference.