This was after Afif himself was barred from entering Sarawak via the Kuching International Airport at 12.30am earlier today.

“It is with utter disappointment that after 53 years of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, the state BN leaders continue to use gutless tactics to deny my right of entry.

“This goes to prove that the powers that be are also not afraid to take away the rights of the people when their position is threatened,” he said in a statement today.

Afif, who is also a Penang executive councillor, said the attempt to block him and his entourage from participating in the run-up to the state election was a form of ‘sacrilege’ by the state government.

“As a Malaysian youth, my country is not only the Peninsular, but also Sabah and Sarawak.

“My responsibility is to be not just a politician for the people in the peninsular but for the whole country,” he said.

Recently, a string of Opposition figures and their party workers were barred from entering Sarawak.

Ubah mascot creator and Selangor DAP member Ooi Leng Hang as well as Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching were barred at the Kuching airport last week and deported to Kuala Lumpur.

More recently, Penang executive councillor and PKR member Abdul Malik Kassim was also booted out.

Previously, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua and his Seputeh colleague Teresa Kok were also denied entry.

Sarawak dissolved its state assembly on Monday to pave way for the upcoming state election, slated to be held in early May.

However, nomination and polling dates have yet to be set by the Election Commission although Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem had proposed April 18 for nominations and April 30 for polling last January.