The continuing bar on some peninsula politicians and social activists from entering Sarawak is a perplexing action that must stop, said PKR Wanita vice-chair Tan Poh Lai.

Poh Lai said the latest instance of this bar on Zuraida Kamaruddin, the PKR Wanita chief who was not allowed into Kuching yesterday, was even more exasperating because the MP for Ampang fell into no discernible category of the undesirables that the Sarawak immigration periodically deems as unsuitable for admission into the state.

“She is no extremist, which is presumably the grounds on which Sarawak would bar a person like the Perkasa chief from entering,” said Poh lai ( right ), a lawyer who was appointed to her position in PKR after party polls earlier this year.

“Further, Zuraida does not fall into the category of trouble maker which would conceivably be the grounds upon which a slew of other PKR MPs were barred from entering the state during the Balingian by-election last March,” added Poh Lai.

“Zuraida was merely seeking to enter the state to carry out the normal political activity that is the democratic right of a Malaysian politician under our constitution.

“How is it possible that an activity as normal as that of being a campaigning politician with no tendency towards extremist speech nor inflammatory intent be barred from entering the state.

“She was there merely to see to the party’s readiness for the approaching Sarawak state polls. For that to be considered unallowable is perplexing,” argued Poh Lai.

The PKR leader said while Sarawak has some enlightened policies such as allowing Christians there to use the term ‘Allah’ for God and of not allowing indisputably divisive peninsula politicians in which were salutary actions,  the state was “needlessly estranging itself from the rest of Malaysia” by barring not unwholesome Peninsula politicians from entering.

“This has been a painfully perplexing policy for it makes no sense and gives the state a bad name. It should be stopped,” said Poh Lai.