SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg today said he has “no idea” why Sabah politician Jeffrey Kitingan was denied entry into the state.

Kitingan was to chair a Dayak International Organisation meeting in Kuching yesterday and then speak at a forum organised by Movement For Change Sarawak this afternoon.

However the Sarawak authorities had rejected his application for special entry made early in the week.

“When did he come?” Abang Johari asked reporters yesterday night, in response to queries on why Kitingan was barred.

It was not the first time the Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) president has been prevented from entering Sarawak. He was stopped in 2017.

“Anyway he’s on the (Immigration) blacklist,” he said, at the Dayak Bidayuh National Association’s (DBNA) 65th anniversary cum New Year gathering.

He promised he would look into the reason for the denial.

Last November, academician Wong Chin Huat was also denied entry into the state. When asked why, Abang Johari said it was up to the state security committee to decide on such matters.

Kitingan, in a statement, called out Abang Johari for “abusing his immigration powers”.

He said he only became persona non grata during the Abang Johari administration. He had been barred from entry the first time in February 2017, less than a month after Abang Johari took office following the sudden death of Adenan Satem.

“I have never had this problem with previous Sarawak chief ministers Tun Taib Mahmud and the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

“As such, I am speaking not only on my behalf but also others, including Sarawakians who are now wondering if there is anything wrong with Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s government.

“Is he afraid of something that he now must resort to abusing his immigration powers for no apparent reason?” he asked.

Kitingan said while he respected the state government’s autonomy over immigration, he regretted that it had been used against to him who had been at the forefront of fighting for Sabah and Sarawak’s rights even before Abang Johari became chief minister.

He has hope that the Sarawak government will in the future reconsider the applications of an elected Dayak representative like him for entry into the state for “legitimate activities”.

A Dayak NGO also criticised the decision to bar Kitigan, saying the state had no reason to do so. 

Dayak Rights Action Force’s spokesman Bobby William said the state government was “arrogant”.

“Kitingan came as the voice of the Dayak of Borneo. He did not come as a terrorist,” Williams said. – January 11, 2020.