PRESS STATEMENT 11 November 1992
CONFISCATION OF PASSPORT OF THOMAS JALONG, SAM STAFF MEMBER
Sahabat Alam Malaysia is very surprised and shocked at the
action of the Malaysian immigration authorities in
confiscating the passport of Thomas Jalong, a staff member, at
Subang International Airport on Tuesday night (10 November,
1992).
Mr Jalong was on his way to Japan to attend the meeting of the
International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and a
seminar of indigenous peoples from Asia and Latin America.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia is accredited as an NGO observer to the
ITTO meeting, and Mr Jalong has attended previous meetings
held in Japan.
No reasons have been given by the immigration authorities, who
merely informed Mr Jalong that he was not allowed to leave the
country. Mr Jalong was told to meet the immigration
authorities in Kuala Lumpur in two weeks time to ascertain the
status of his passport.
Japan is not a restricted country as far as Malaysians are
concerned and SAM sees no reason for this action against Mr
Jalong. We shall be contacting the immigration authorities for
clarifications on the matter.
S.M. Mohd. Idris
President
Sahabat Alam Malaysia, 19 Kelawei Road, 10250 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 376 930/ Tel & Fax: +604 375 705