‘To allow entry or not, is our right’

Parti Rakyat Sarawak president James Masing says no one should question Sarawak's rights which it had retained when it joined Malaysia.

KUCHING: Sarawak’s immigration laws “should not be questioned” as the state reserves the “right” to allow or bar the entry of any individuals and groups.

Reminding “visitors” to Sarawak, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing said Sarawak had retained its autonomous rights when it joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

“Our rights, especialy our immigration laws, should not be questioned. Autonomy was a prerequisite when we joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

“Those who question these rights should refer to history books or read the Federal Constitution,” he said, adding that it was therefore unnecessary for the state government to justify barring anyone’s entry into the state.

Masing was commenting on Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan’s legal suit against the Sarawak government for barring her from entering the state for the April 16 state election.

She claimed the move was against the Federal Constitution.

Said Masing: “When politicians and members of the NGOs from Peninsular Malaysia are barred from entering Sarawak, they should never question the state authorities on such issues.

“In fact, they should understand that Sarawak has its own autonomy and by that, it means that we don’t have to give any reason and explanation for barring anyone from entering.

“We normally stop those who pose a security threat to the state,” he said.

“Please don’t politicise these rights as we also don’t question the rights of others,” he reportedly said in local daily BorneoPost.

Sreenivasan, who was part of the coalition’s election monitoring team, had filed a suit against the state government and the case is set for hearing on July 13.

In her affidavit, she claimed she was stopped at the Kuching International Airport on April 15. She said she was given no reason for being barred entry into Sarawak.