Law associations urge state government to cease entry bans

Sabah Law Association, Advocates’ Association of Sarawak and Malaysian Bar has urged the Sabah state government to immediately rescind the entry ban that it has imposed on Nurul Izzah Anwar.

This came after the Lembah Pantai MP was denied entry into Sabah after arriving at Kota Kinabalu International Airport yesterday. Nurul Izzah was supposed to attend the Pesta Kaamatan in Penampang.

Sabah Law Association president, G.B.B Nandy, Advocates’ Association of Sarawak president, Khairil Azmi Mohd Hasbie and Malaysian Bar president, Christopher Leong also insist on ceasing and desist from resorting to such action without any justifiable cause.

“Sabah state government is flouting the guarantee of freedom of movement that is enshrined in Article 9 of Federal Constitution, which provides that “every citizen has the right to move freely throughout the Federation”, they stated in a joint press release.

They added, although Sabah state government has statutory right to restrict entry, this power must be used sparingly and only justifiable cause.

Nurul Izzah was detained and denied entry by the Sabah Immigration officers at 7pm at the airport. She was deported back without any explanation as to why she was barred from entering Sabah.

PKR Vice President Nurul Izzah will likely challenge the act towards her in court. Nurul’s political secretary, Fahmi Fadzil when contacted by Astro Awani said they have yet to decide on the exact date.