State minister rebukes Rafizi over ‘entry ban' remark
Sarawak minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah says Rafizi Ramli's 'jab' at the state was unfortunate given the relationship between the federal and state governments.
PETALING JAYA : A Sarawak minister has criticised Rafizi Ramli for implying that he may be denied entry into the state once again if he loses the PKR deputy presidency race and steps down from the Cabinet.
State minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said Rafizi's remarks were uncalled for.
'We have a good relationship with both Pakatan Harapan and PKR at the federal level and are together in the unity government,' the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leader told FMT.
'Why take a jab at us?'
Karim, the information chief of GPS lynchpin Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, insisted that the Sarawak government, which has autonomy over immigration, has always exercised its right to deny entry into the state responsibly.
He said only individuals with malicious intent—particularly those who seek to sow division through racial and religious discord—would be barred from entering Sarawak.
'If Rafizi is no longer a minister and behaves himself when in Sarawak, of course we will not bar him,' said Karim.
Between 2013 and 2018, the Sarawak government barred Rafizi and other PH leaders from entering the state.
The ban was later reviewed after PH formed the federal government in 2018.
At a PKR election campaign event last Saturday, Rafizi suggested that he might be banned from entering Sarawak if he loses his party post and stands down as minister.
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The economy minister previously said he would relinquish his ministerial post and the party's deputy presidency if he were to lose to his challenger, Nurul Izzah Anwar, at the PKR polls, scheduled to be held today.
On Sunday, home minister and PKR colleague Saifuddin Nasution Ismail took issue with Rafizi remarks, pointing out that Sarawak was a key partner of the federal government.
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