Businessman Tan Seng Hin was given a second notice by the state immigration department to leave Sarawak, this time by tomorrow morning.

The immigration department yesterday allowed him to exercise his right as a voter for the Piasau state seat in Miri but issued an order today asking him to leave Sarawak by tomorrow morning.

Tan, however, had appealed to the authorities last night to let him spend more time with his family. But he did not receive any response from the immigration officials.

According to Tan's wife, Loo Ah Looi, the immigration department made a number of phone calls this morning asking for the 61-year-old former Chinese educationist.

But Tan was not at home since he has been in hiding after he was 'accidentally' allowed back into the state by the Miri airport authorities on Sunday.

He was deported from Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia on Jan 6 for allegedly criticising the state government.

An immigration officer visited Tan's house this afternoon, and when he could not find the businessman, he told Loo that her husband had been given until tomorrow 7am to leave the state.

"I appealed to the authorities to give my husband a little more time to spend with our two children. They have been looking forward to seeing their father since he came back," said Loo.

Entry legal

Loo added that they hoped the authority would let Tan stay until tomorrow afternoon, so that their children, family members and friends would be able to see him off at the airport.

"Our children have to attend school until 1.30pm. We are only asking for a few additional hours," she said.

Tan, who is a developer, has been living in Sarawak for the past two decades with his wife and their two children, aged 17 and 13.

When contacted by malaysiakini , Tan said he hoped the authorities would stop harassing his family members through their constant phone calls.

Tan also added that he was given a three-month social visit pass, which makes his entry into Sarawak legal.

Tan expressed his disappointment with the Sarawak dailies, which described his entry into the state as "illegal".

'Extreme actions'

"If I am an illegal migrant, can I legitimately cast my vote in the elections. I had voted. Should my vote be considered illegal then?" lamented Tan.

He said that as a voter in the Piasau seat in Miri, he would like to ask the newly-elected state assemblyman, George Chan, why he was labeled an extremist.

Chan was reported in a Chinese daily in April to have cited Tan's "extreme actions" as the catalyst for his deportation from the state.

According to a Sin Chew Jit Poh report, Chan was quoted as saying that the cancellation of the businessman's social visit pass to Sarawak last December was justified because of his "extreme actions" in Miri.

"I want to know the reason for my deportation. If not, I will never be satisfied," he said.

In April, George Chan denied that Tan's deportation from Sarawak had anything to do with his participation in political activities.

Tan alleged that the reason for his deportation was due to his criticism of the state government's move to change the medium of the Riam Middle School in Miri from Chinese to English.