KUCHING, May 23 — Sarawak’s entry ban on Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the editor of Sarawak Report, remains effective, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today.
He said the British journalist is on the list of “undesirable elements” banned from entering the state.
“The ban on her was imposed during the time of my predecessor the late Pehin Seri Adenan Satem,” Abang Johari told reporters after handing over food parcels to 10 federal agencies in conjunction with the coming Gawai Dayak-Hari Raya celebrations here.
“I have not decided whether to lift the entry ban,” he said, when asked if the state government would follow the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government in receiving her.
The state government barred Rewcastle-Brown from returning to her birthplace following a series of investigative articles she wrote on allegations of corrupt and abuse of power against current Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud when he was the chief minister for over 30 years.
On a separate matter, Abang Johari declined to comment on the absence of appointments of federal ministers from Sarawak by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“I don’t know. It is up to Harapan. I don’t want to comment. It is up to them to decide,” he said.
