KUCHING: Political activists from Sarawak and Sabah want Umno Youth Chief, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh and four others whom they alleged had "contributed to the escalation of racial and religious tensions, as well as social discord in the country", banned from the two Borneo states.
Peter John Jaban of the Sarawak Associations for People Aspirations (Sapa) today demanded Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Abang Openg add Dr Akmal, controversial Muslim preachers Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu, Shakir Nasoha and the man who triggered the Allah socks controversy, Firdaus Wong, to the state's"immigration blacklist".
The preachers have allegedly made hate speeches and inflammatory remarks against other religions.
"This demand is in response to recent events that have threatened peace and harmony in Sarawak and Sabah," Jaban and Sabah's Atama Katama of Moningolig Pogun Tokou (Defenders of Ancestral Lands), said.
Under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Sarawak and Sabah have autonomy over immigration and Sarawak, in particular, have regularly used its autonomy to bar Malaysians from the peninsular whom it deemed to be undesirable.
Former Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem had exercised the autonomy to bar "extremists, religious bigots, and troublemakers" from the peninsula.
Jaban said Abang Zohari should update the blacklist by adding individuals not welcomed in Sarawak as they could undermine the "peaceful environment, and the values of exclusivity, tolerance, and social harmony" of the state.
He said the names of the five should be added to the list as they have "incited protests and boycotts, fuelled racial and religious intolerance, created fear and insecurity, and promoted divisive attitudes".
"(We) don't want (them) to come to Sarawak," he said.
Katama added that the call for the ban is to protect the interests of Sarawak and Sabah, to maintain a peaceful environment, and uphold the values of inclusivity, tolerance, and social harmony.
The so-called immigration blacklist is highly secretive and Sarawak rarely comments on it.
It reportedly has "hundreds" of names and among them is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Perkasa chief and former Pasir Mas MP, Ibrahim Ali and Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunus are also reportedly in it.
