Jagdeep turned away at Kuching airport

Penang DAP deputy chairman says entry bar signals Sarawak government's fear.

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak has denied entry to Penang DAP’s deputy chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo on a trip to help in the party’s campaign for the state elections to be held on May 7.

“I am deeply disappointed to have been denied entry to Kuching, Sarawak by the Immigration Department here, upon my arrival here at 9am this morning,” he said in a statement today.

”The denial of my entry and many others before me in the run up to the Sarawak election clearly demonstrates how undemocratic the system is, but more importantly is a signal of the fear of the Sarawak government, led by Chief Minister Adenan Satem, towards such a healthy democracy, “ he  was quoted as saying.

Jagdeep said he had the legal and constitutional right to enter Sarawak as a citizen of Malaysia.

A number of opposition politicians, activists and Umno-linked personalities have been denied entry since the state assembly was prorogued on April 11. The state government has said the entry bar was to preserve Sarawak’s racial and religious harmony against “extremists”.

Sarawak has autonomy over immigration which was meant to prevent an influx of people from the Peninsula from working or settling in Sarawak.