Explain decision to ban Bersih director, Sabah govt told

 PKR's Chan Chun Kuang also calls for the ban on Asraf Sharafi Azhar to be revoked.

Bersih executive director Asraf Sharafi Azhar, who is married to a Sabahan, has been barred from entering Sabah to see his family for the past two months.

PETALING JAYA:

A PKR assemblyman from Pahang has urged the Sabah government to explain the decision to bar Bersih executive director Asraf Sharafi Azhar from entering the state.

In a statement, Chan Chun Kuang also called for the ban to be rescinded immediately and allow Asraf to return to the East Malaysian state to be with his family.

“It is unreasonable to bar someone from returning home without providing a clear explanation.”

Earlier today, Malaysiakini quoted Asraf, who is married to a Sabahan, as saying he had been barred from Sabah for nearly two months.

He also said attempts to seek a clarification from the Sabah chief minister’s office and the state immigration authorities had been futile.

Chan, the Semambu assemblyman, claimed that Asraf was barred hours after he and several activists marched to Parliament to submit a memorandum calling for a royal commission of inquiry into allegations of a “corporate mafia” linked to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

“Expressing an opinion or joining a peaceful assembly is not an offence simply because the views are disliked by certain parties,” he said, adding that the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is enshrined in the Federal Constitution. - FMT