Hafiz Hamid claims multiple appeals to Sarawak and federal immigration authorities have failed to shed light on why he is on the 'suspect list'.
Hafiz Hamid, a technical writer currently staying in Subang Jaya, told FMT he was first denied entry in May 2018 after arriving at Sibu Airport for a six-day trip to celebrate Gawai with friends.
He said immigration officers showed him a notice indicating he was on a “suspects list” and refused him entry, despite having entered Sarawak more than 10 times before via Kuching Airport.
His three companions from the peninsula were allowed in, but Hafiz was placed on a flight back to Kuala Lumpur.
Hafiz said the Sarawak restriction appears to have affected his federal immigration records, preventing him from renewing his passport.
The 42-year-old filed an appeal after his 2023 passport renewal application was rejected and received a receipt with a handwritten note stating: “sekatan oleh Imm Sarawak” (restriction by Sarawak Immigration).
“I have not been able to travel overseas at all since 2018,” he said, adding that the situation has been personally difficult, as his elderly parents had hoped to perform the umrah and hajj with him.
“My mother cries every hajj season. Without a passport, I cannot (do anything).”
Hafiz said his attempts to seek clarification from the Sarawak and federal immigration authorities have failed to yield any clear outcome.
“I have never been charged or questioned by any authority. I still don’t know what offence I am supposed to have committed,” he lamented.
Hafiz’s lawyer, Shamsher Singh Thind, said he plans to issue a letter of demand to the immigration department, describing the lack of explanation as “procedurally unfair and possibly unlawful.”
FMT has contacted the Sarawak and federal immigration departments for comment. - FMT
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