Sabah police reactivated its beat base at Warisan Square which is popular with locals and tourists alike.
KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Christina Liew has welcomed the Sabah police’s initiative to reactivate its beat base at Warisan Square here in view of the revival of the tourism industry in the state.
The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said the decision was most timely as the state was on track to tourism recovery.
While she agreed with Sabah Police Commissioner Comm Datuk Jauteh Dikun that although Sabah and Kota Kinabalu were safe, she said it would be better that everyone worked together to maintain the safety status quo that has been achieved thus far.
"A sense of safety is of paramount importance to visitors coming to a foreign country," she said, in a statement here on Saturday (July 15).
"We must make them feel safe so that they can move about freely and enjoy their stay without any fear of being harassed.
"With beefed up security around the city, domestic and international tourists alike can rest assured that they are in safe hands while visiting the state capital or its surrounding districts," added the Api-Api assemblyman.
On Friday (July 14), Comm Jauteh launched a round-the-clock police beat booth at the Warisan Square which was popular among tourists as well as locals.
He said would be a "conferencing point" for the local community and tourists to ask for information.
He added the base, which was also a stone’s throw away from the famous Filipino market, was reactivated due to the influx of tourists coming back to Sabah, particularly its capital.
According to Liew, Sabah was witnessing a surge in Korean tourists, following the reopening of international borders this year, after Malaysia started its transition from the Covid-19 pandemic to the endemic phase in April 2022.
On Sunday (July 16), she said, low-cost carrier AirAsia would be relaunching its Macau-Kota Kinabalu route, with direct scheduled flight services four times per week.
"This brings to a total of 40 direct scheduled flights weekly from China (including Hong Kong) to Kota Kinabalu, via AirAsia alone.
"That is, Hong Kong (10 flights per week), Guangzhou (seven flights per week), Shenzhen (seven flights per week), Beijing (seven flights per week), Wuhan (five flights per week) and Macau (four flights per week)," she said.
