KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Bersih 2.0 alleged today that the Sabah government’s ban on DAP lawmaker Tony Pua from entering the state was politically motivated.
The electoral watchdog’s chair Maria Chin Abdullah said it was “disappointing” for the Sabahan authorities to have acted such against Pua, which she claimed violated his constitutional right.
“This action is an infringement on Tony’s constitutional right and freedom of movement.
“It simply raise question that it was politically motivated and shows a desperate state government clutching on to power,” she alleged in a statement today.
Maria also said Pua had not violated any of the immigration laws and it was necessary for the Sabah officials to give a proper explanation.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP was stopped by Immigration officers upon arrival at Kota Kinabalu International Airport at about 12.45pm today and was sent back to Kuala Lumpur on a 2pm flight.
Pua, who was scheduled to launch several Impian Sabah water projects in the interior districts and to attend a forum, said he was not given a reason for the ban.
He is the second DAP lawmaker banned from Sabah after Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.
Other prominent figures similarly refused entry to Sabah include PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar and lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
The Sabah and Sarawak chief ministers have autonomy over immigration and can refuse entry to any individual, under special privileges accorded to them under the Malaysia Agreement.
The list of peninsular Malaysians blacklisted from Sabah and Sarawak changes from time to time and is a national secret, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
