Fruitful meeting: DCP Sanjos (left) with Yeo (right) during the courtesy visit by the South Korean delegation.
KOTA KINABALU: A visit by a delegation from South Korea to Sabah has sparked hope that the country will lift a travel advisory for its citizens to the state’s east coast.
Eastern Security Sabah Command (Esscom) commander Deputy Comm Datuk Victor Sanjos is optimistic about this following a courtesy visit by South Korea’s Ambassador to Malaysia Yeo Seung-bae and his group to the agency’s office in the east coast Lahad Datu district on Tuesday.
DCP Sanjos thanked the envoy and his delegation for making the trip to learn of the latest status in the Eastern Sabah Safe Zone (Esszone). He said he hopes the visit will further strengthen bilateral relations.
“And ultimately, in line with the Home Ministry’s wish through Esscom, we hope the South Korean government will give priority to withdrawing the travel advisory and encourage its citizens to visit the Sabah east coast.
“Hopefully, after this visit, the statistics will show a significant influx of tourists from the Republic of Korea,” he added.
South Korea has had a standing travel advisory issued since 2015 for its citizens to cancel or postpone unnecessary travel to the eastern part of Sabah due to kidnapping incidents the year before.
Earlier, Yeo and his delegation were briefed on the security situation as well as the community’s welfare, which has improved since the Esszone and Esscom were established more than 11 years ago.
The ambassador expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Esscom for its efforts in ensuring the safety of visitors, particularly South Koreans who travel to the Esszone.
Yeo also said he has a good feeling about the visit to Lahad Datu, calling it vital in learning the level of security in the Esszone.
Through the trip, he added, they got accurate information to be delivered to their citizens so that more tourists from his country will come to Malaysia in general, and Sabah in particular.
Also present were Esscom chief executive officer Datuk Dr Jamaluddin Mohd Ali and deputy commander Brig-Gen Mohamad Ismail Kamarudin, as well as other senior officers of the agency.
