Environmental NGO leader barred from Sarawak entry, group demands explanation

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) condemned the refusal to allow its president, Meenakshi Raman, to enter Sarawak after she landed at Miri Airport in the late afternoon. Immigration officials seized her identity card, asked whether she was linked to any investigation, and later informed her of a report filed against her in May of the prior year. According to SAM’s honorary secretary, Mageswari Sangaralingam, Raman had not been notified of any restriction and would not have traveled otherwise.

The organization, which has operated in Sarawak for decades and runs an office in Marudi, called the denial a breach of procedural fairness for a Malaysian citizen and long-standing environmental advocate. SAM urged Sarawak authorities to disclose the legal basis for the ban and asked the federal government to intervene, warning that such exclusions could undermine civic space and public debate on environmental and community issues.