Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem said today the issue of whether Ibrahim Ali, president of the Malay right-wing group Perkasa, was allowed entry into Sarawak recently is no longer relevant.

“But he (Ibrahim) will find out what will happen next time when he comes to Sarawak,” Adenan told a news conference at his office at Wisma Bapa Malaysia in Kuching.

Adenan, in a statement published recently said the government would not hesitate to bar religious bigots, racists and trouble-makers from Sarawak, while those already here would be deported if they stoked racial and religious tensions.

The chief minister rubbished claims that the state government allowed Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to enter the state due to international pressure. “We let him in because we are not afraid of him,” he said.

Adenan also said that the state government had a list of people who were barred from entering the state.

The state Immigration Department had denied reports that Ibrahim had entered the state recently, but there had been claims that he was sighted in the state and had reportedly officially opened a Sarawak Perkasa event and made a working visit to Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Sarawak (PKMS) in Satok, Petra Jaya.  

Batu Lintang assemblyperson See Chee How had questioned the political will and commitment of the state Barisan Nasional (BN) to keep racists and religious bigots out of the state.

See, who is also the state PKR vice-chairperson, said that if the state government was true to the words of Adenan to preserve the racial and religious harmony and political stability in Sarawak, Ibrahim should never have been allowed to enter the state.

Human rights activist Peter John Jaban also asked why Ibrahim was allowed to enter the state despite the “insensitive and racist statements” he had made in peninsular Malaysia.  

He said that on the very day that the chief minister had issued the statement to keep bigots and racists out of Sarawak, Ibrahim Ali was openly parading himself around Kuching and Samarahan.

- Bernama