‘Ban order comes from state authority’

Ken Leben (Photo File)

KUCHING: The barring of several political personalities and activists from Peninsular Malaysia from entering Sarawak comes from the state authority.

State Immigration Department director Ken Leben said their job was to carry out the order given by the authority.

He said the order was not only confined to those from Peninsular Malaysia but also from Sabah and overseas.

“It is not only confined to religious extremists and racists but also to all those who are considered not desirable to the state. Those who feel they are not desirable to the state don’t make plan to come here,” he told a press conference yesterday.

To a question, he said there was no other way to find out earlier if their names had been blacklisted until they arrived at the immigration counter in the Kuching International Airport.

Once it was found that their names were blacklisted, they would be sent back on the same day with their return flight covered by the airlines, not by the department, he said.

He also said there was no specific time given for the ban but those who had been barred from entering the state could make an appeal, subject to approval of the state authority.

So far this year, he said only four individuals had been sent back on the same day of their arrival because their names were blacklisted from entering the state.

 

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