Sarawak bars Ridhuan Tee from entering state

9

KUCHING: Controversial academician Ridhuan Tee Abdullah was barred from entering Sarawak when he arrived at the Kuching International Airport this morning.

Sarawak Immigration Department deputy director Hamfatullah Syawal Hamdan confirmed with Bernama that the Immigration Department had received instructions from the Chief Minister’s Office to prevent Mohd Ridhuan from entering the state.

“The Immigration Department received an instruction from the Office of the Chief Minister to prohibit Mohd Ridhuan from entering Sarawak. For details, you can contact the Office of the Chief Minister,” he told Bernama when contacted.

Mohd Ridhuan was scheduled to deliver a religious talk at the Lundu District Mosque at 8 pm today.

Several quarters had expressed the hope on social media that he would be barred from entering Sarawak.

A source told Bernama that Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem was not in favour of the presence of Mohd Ridhuan in Lundu tonight and had instructed that the event be cancelled.

Sarawak had previously prohibited the entry of several opposition political party leaders from entering the state, via Kuching and Sibu.

Adenan had said previously that Sarawak was tightening its immigration rules and stepping up the scrutiny of visitors from the peninsula to keep out “extremists, religious bigots and racists”. -Bernama