Malaysian opposition claims leaders blacklisted from state election
Opposition say they have been banned by state of Sabah in “undemocratic” move
Malaysia’s opposition said Monday its top leaders have been blacklisted from a key state, decrying the move as illegal and aimed at stifling its message of ruling-coalition power abuse and election fraud.
The opposition said those banned by the state of Sabah include its leader Anwar Ibrahim, who has led a series of public rallies around the country to protest May 5 elections that he says were stolen by the ruling coalition.
“It’s really undemocratic and blatantly unjust because you are denying members of parliament to perform their duty in their own country,” Anwar told AFP, adding he would challenge Sabah authorities by flying there this weekend.
Lim Kit Siang, a top leader in the three-party opposition, says he was among others blacklisted, as was Ambiga Sreenevasan, co-leader of an NGO alliance that has staged massive past demonstrations demanding electoral reform.
The issue first came to light last week when Anwar’s parliamentarian daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar was prevented from entering Sabah. Lim said the additional bans were detailed in a document obtained from the Sabah state government.
Sabah officials could not immediately be reached.