Entry bans for East Malaysia need to end

East Malaysian states need to stop the practice of barring certain individuals from Peninsula Malaysia from entering.

Sabah and Sarawak are Malaysian states but they are unique in that they have autonomy over their immigration affairs as prescribed in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). That means they can stop Malaysian citizens from the peninsula from entering their states and they have done so, especially with former opposition (now government) politicians and activists.

Suhakam has rightly called for this practice to stop:

"Suhakam takes the position that no state in Malaysia should any longer ban Malaysian citizens from entry even if there are constitutional powers (to do so) as such actions are a remnant of past repressive practices."

It's really ridiculous that any citizen of this country might be restricted from visiting another state within the country. Just on the face of it, it sounds like a terrible policy. Suhakam is right. It needs to be done away with.