Sabah has right to deny visitors entry
But lawyers in Sabah want the state government to explain why it denied fellow lawyer Haris Ibrahim entry into Sabah
(Free Malaysia Today) – The Sabah Law Association (SLA) said the Musa Aman administration is ‘not obliged’ to give a reason for denying non-Sabahans entry into the state.
Whilst saying it is the ‘state’s right’, SLA cautioned that the ‘powers’ were potentially draconian and wide-reaching and must be judiciously and fairly exercised.
The association was commenting on the state government’s decision to bar fellow lawyer Haris Ibrahim, the president of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM), from entering Sabah on Dec 6.
“Although the state is not obliged to provide reasons for or to justify its decision, we would urge the state government to issue its own statement as to its reasons for doing so in order to avoid the impression that the power was exercised capriciously or to comply with the wishes of the powers-that-be outside of the state.
“Compliance with outside forces surely cannot protect, enhance or promote our constitutional rights,” it said in a statement yesterday.
The association added that it was speaking out as the decision to bar Harris gave rise to concerns as to the legality of the action of the state government.
“Although the legality of the decision of the state government is beyond reproach for reasons as follows such decisions ought to be made carefully and ought not to be made frivolously or for reasons which do not further or protect the interest of the state.
“The decision of the state government to bar Harris Ibrahim entry to the state was under Section 65(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963,” it said in a statement.
“The Sabah Law Association is of the view that the exercise by the state authority of its rights under the Immigration Act is not just an executive act under an ordinary legislation but is an act pursuant to the constitutional rights accorded to the East Malaysian States under Part VII of the Immigration Act.
