Firebrand academician and Muslim preacher Dr Ridhuan Tee was barred from entering Sarawak this morning.
Upon landing at Kuching International Airport, Tee was informed that he was on the state government’s persona non grata list.
Tee, no stranger to controversy for his views in support of Malay-Muslim sovereignty in Malaysia (despite his being an ethnic Chinese), was scheduled to have delivered a talk at the Sematan district mosque as part of the Jom Bersantai Sematan 2014-2015 year-end programme.
Sematan is the state seat of Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem, who has in the past stated that he had no qualms about barring “extremists, religious bigots, and racists” from entering his state.
Sarawak state Land Development Minister James Jemut Masing told The Star Online, “The ban on him is the correct decision by the Sarawak government. We certainly don’t need bigots in the state.”
He also expressed surprise that Tee was even invited to speak at the event in the first place.
