EC urged to take action against caretaker state govt: PKR vice president

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See (left), Zakaria (second left) and PKR central leadership council member Zakaria Abdul Hamid (right) attending to questions from reporters at Kuching International Airport.

See (left), Zakaria (second left) and PKR central leadership council member Zakaria Abdul Hamid (right) attending to questions from reporters at Kuching International Airport.

KUCHING: PKR vice president Dr Xavier Jayakumar has urged the Election Commission (EC) to take action against the caretaker state government for depriving their national leaders from entering the state to speak their mind during the election.

Dr Xavier said what the state administration had done in barring the party’s national leaders was a huge injustice to the people of Sarawak who want a free and fair election.

“This is totally wrong and morally wrong. Legally, I think it is also wrong and can be challenged especially when there is an election,” he told reporters at Kuching International Airport (KIA) here today.

Dr Xavier was commenting on the barring of PKR deputy president and Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali from entering the state by the state authority.

“It is a sad day in Sarawak today because of the way the Menteri Besar position is being treated by the government of Sarawak. It is okay to stop people from coming in but to have to do this to a chief of a state in Malaysia speaks volumes about the state of affairs as far as BN is concerned.”

Dr Xavier said his comrades, including those from Sarawak felt that a great wrong had been done as far as Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem and his group was concerned.

“We hope that this will be seriously taken into consideration in the coming parliament sitting by our parliamentarians who should bring up this matter in order that this is set right.”

State PKR vice chairman See Chee How said while PKR upheld the autonomy of Sarawak with regards to state rights, including immigration rights, the barring of Azmin from entering the state was a clear case of abuse.

“The state government should not be conducting in this manner. There are constitutional provisions and even provisions in the (Immigration) Act itself to say what are the exemptions for these people to come in to Sarawak.

“This is a Menteri Besar of Selangor and he is coming in for legitimate political activities to support his comrades in Sarawak. These are spelt clearly in the provisions of the Act in allowing the political leaders to come in. This is clearly an abuse because there is no way that you can say the Menteri Besar is doing anything wrong here.”