Friendly gesture: Liew (second from left) presenting a framed picture of Mount Kinabalu to Hay in London during a recent courtesy call.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has sought the assistance of the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office to lift its travel advisory that warns UK citizens against visiting islands in Sabah’s east coast.
A Sabah delegation led by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew met with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) director for South-East Asia and the Pacific, Charles Hay, to raise the matter.
In turn, the FCDO assured the Sabah tourism delegation that it would look into the request, Liew said in a statement.
She said Hay gave the assurance during a courtesy call by the Sabah delegation at the FCDO office in London last week.
Liew extended an invitation to Hay to visit Sabah and personally observe the security situation along the state’s east coast.
She said Hay affirmed that he would look into the matter and explained that their advisories were based on a continuously reviewed objective assessment.
“He (Hay) said that he would look into the matter and will update the state,” said Liew, who also informed Hay that the UK was among nine countries that participated in the Malaysian Home Ministry’s briefing and security survey programme at the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) at the invitation of Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in July.
The foreign representatives were provided with first-hand experience of the safety measures in place along Sabah’s east coast, particularly within the ESSZone, Liew said.
Liew’s assistant minister, Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is also Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman, told Hay that it is crucial for FCDO to endorse this security statement.
Hay, who served as the British High Commissioner to Malaysia from April 2019 to 2023, noted the improved security situation in eastern Sabah.
STB chief executive officer Julinus Jeffery Jimit also briefed Hay on the increase in UK tourist arrivals between January and August this year, in comparison to the same period last year.
“The UK and Ireland recorded 20,140 visitors between January and August, compared to 18,851 in the same period last year, an increase of 6.8%,” he said during the courtesy call with Hay.
On its website, FCDO advises against all but essential travel to all islands and dive sites off the coast of eastern Sabah, from Sandakan to Tawau, including Lankayan island, due to the threat of kidnapping. The advisory does not apply to the Sabah mainland.
Commercial shipping companies were also advised to adopt heightened vigilance when navigating the Sulu and Celebes seas.
Most maritime incidents occur in the Sulu Sea in the zone between Sabah and the Philippines’ Mindanao, the Sulu Islands, and Palawan, the advisory said.
