Three law bodies condemn Sabah govt for banning Nurul Izzah's entry

JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Respect the Federal Constitution:
Sabah State Government Must Cease and Desist from Imposing Entry Bans
The three Bars of Malaysia —Sabah Law Association, Advocates’ Association of Sarawak
and Malaysian Bar — deplore the denial of entry of NurulIzzah Anwar, a Member of
Parliament, into Sabah, upon landing in Kota Kinabalu on 30 May 2013, which was during
the PestaKaamatan celebrations.
By deploying this drastic measure, the Sabah State Government is flouting the guarantee of
freedom of movement that is enshrined in Article 9 of the Federal Constitution, which
provides that “every citizen has the right to move freely throughout the Federation”.
Although the Sabah State Government has the statutory right to restrict entry, this power
must be used sparingly, and only with justifiable cause.
The three Bars of Malaysia call on the Sabah State Government to immediately rescind the
entry ban that it has imposed, and to cease and desist from resorting to such action without
any justifiable cause. We urge the Malaysian Government to take concrete measures to
safeguard each citizen’s right to travel within his or her own land without hindrance.
G B B Nandy @ Gaanesh
President
Sabah Law Association
Khairil Azmi bin Mohamad Hasbie
President
Advocates’ Association of Sarawak
Christopher Leong
President
Malaysian Bar
31 May 2013