Another Bersih activist barred from Sarawak

Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah was barred from entering Sarawak this morning.

She was held up at Kuching airport by Immigration officers when she arrived at 9 this morning.

"They said this was an order from the state government and if I want to enter Sarawak again, I must write a letter to the Chief Minister's Office," she said when contacted this morning.

Maria was there to meet local Bersih 2.0 activists for the launch of its Jom 100 campaign, aimed for a 100 percent voter turnout at the 13th General Election.

"This is to stop Bersih steering committee members from coming in to Sarawak to monitor the coming election process. If the state government has nothing to hide, why is it banning our members?

"This also violates my right to association," she said.

Fourth Bersih leader deported

In April last year, the movement's co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and steering committee member Wong Chin Huat and former steering committee member Harris Ibrahim were also stopped from entering the state.

Ambiga subsequently challenged the deportation and failed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in August last year.

Maria ,who upon arrival at the airport was immediately taken by immigration officers, was also denied access to counsel.

"My lawyer was waiting outside but they refused to let him meet me, they said I can meet a lawyer when I returned to Kuala Lumpur," she said.

She added that she will be consulting her lawyers before deciding on further action.

Maria was deported on an AirAsia flight to KL at 11.55am with her own return ticket.