KUCHING: The rule requiring travellers to show their passports, identity cards, or other documents when entering Sarawak indicates that the State has immigration autonomy.
This was pointed out by Tourism, Art, Cultures, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, in response to a statement made by State Reform Party (Star) president, Lina Soo, recently.
Soo’s statement which was published online recently proposed to the government to make it mandatory for all non-Sarawakians, including those from Malaya and Sabah to produce their passports before being allowed into the State.
Currently, foreigners who want to enter Sarawak have to show their passports. For Malayans and Sabahans, suffice for them to use their identity cards or even driver’s licence.
Soo believes Sarawak Immigration Department is linked to the National Registration Department online, and due to that, the system has been able to stop “undesirable” persons from Malaya or Sabah from entering the State even though they only use their identity cards.
“That in itself reflects the immigration autonomy that Sarawak possesses. We are going into a better digital age and even movements within the European Union just need one entry stamp and one exit stamp,” said Abdul Karim.
He added that requests for other Malaysians to use their passports to enter Sarawak is not “forward looking” and is a failure to acknowledge that Malaysia has improved its digital technology.
“It’s inconvenient and definitely not good for domestic tourism. Imagine a Malaysian from Malaya having to make a passport just to come to Sarawak. Making a passport is not cheap. If using an IC can serve the same purpose, why the need for a passport?” he said.
