KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 ― Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng asked the government today if it would consider banning entry to an Australian senator who made incendiary remarks about Muslims after mosque shootings in New Zealand.
The DAP lawmaker also called for those who are linked to white supremacy causes to be banned from entering the country.
Lim interjected Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya's speech during a special session following an emergency motion by Port Dickson MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to debate the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50.
"I want to ask the government as to whether the government intends to ban Fraser Anning from entering Malaysia,” Lim said, referring to the Australian senator.
"Secondly, I want to ask the government. Perhaps we can ask information from Interpol or the FBI and other necessary agencies as to whether individuals who have strong links to white supremacy groups. If we get the data, we ban these individuals from entering Malaysia," he added.
Marzuki agreed with Lim's call, adding that his ministry would need to go through the Home Ministry for such details and requested that such information be channeled to them.
Anning had, in a statement posted on Twitter, squarely blamed the mass shootings in Christchurch on New Zealand’s immigration programme that allowed Muslims to migrate to the country.
A defiant Anning also questioned if the same level of empathy would have been shown if Muslims were the perpetrators of such a terror act.
Anning's statement earned him global ire, with both Muslims and non-Muslims as well as government figures condemning his remarks.
Fifty people died in the shootout, while scores more sustained injuries after the alleged shooter, Australian citizen Brenton Harrison Tarrant, opened fire in the mosques during Friday prayers.
The incident drew global condemnation, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also vowing to amend the country's gun laws.
