PAS central committee member Mazlan Aliman, who also leads Anak, the NGO against the listing of Felda, was barred from entering Sabah last night.

“I arrived Kota Kinabalu airport at 8.45pm tonight. Detained by immigration. Not allowed to enter (Sabah) under Section 65(1) Immigration Act 1959 by Sabah state authority,” he told Malaysiakini in a text-message last night.

NONE Mazlan, who is from Johor, had planned to attend the ‘123 Bangkit’ today, a rally in Kota Kinabalu that is backed by the opposition to protect traditional land rights.

                                       

He is also the head of PAS' land and territory bureau.

Another PAS leader from the same bureau, Fadhil Osman, told Malaysiakini that Mazlan was also have launched two Sabah-based NGOs - Kerabat and Bangkit - during his three-day working visit.

           

The rally is organised by a group dubbed Bela Tanah Rakyat Sabah to protest critical issues such as grabbing of, and trespass into, native customary land.

Detained for an hour

Fadhil, who travelled with Mazlan, said that despite their attempts to obtain an explanation, the immigration official only said that he was "performing his duty".

Mazlan was instructed to return to Peninsular Malaysia immediately after being detained for almost one hour. He has contacted his lawyer for further action.

NONE Last Saturday, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah (left) was barred from entering Sarawak.

She was the fourth Bersih 2.0 member denied entry after co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan, steering committee member Wong Chin Huat, and former steering committee member Harris Ibrahim.

Maria was there to meet local Bersih 2.0 activists for the launch of the ‘Jom 100' campaign, which aims at getting 100 percent voter turnout during the 13th general election.

Sabah and Sarawak were given special powers over immigration control as part of the 20-point agreement reached when they joined Malaya in 1963, to form Malaysia.