Semporna today is not like two decades ago – Liew

News Date:  July 31, 2024

Media : Warta Oriental

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew remains optimistic that there will be a positive outcome vis-a-vis the travel advisory imposed by countries against visiting the East Coast of Sabah.

Speaking to reporters after officiating at the Malaysia International Travel Mart (MITM) Fair 2024 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here Saturday, she said she was in Semporna on July 26 accompanying Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution, together with representatives from nine foreign countries, on the Home Minister’s security survey programme under the guidance of Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and Sabah Police.

“We invited them (representatives) to attend the briefing on safety measures in place along Sabah’s east coast, particularly the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone, a security zone in Sabah) and to visit the islands of Sipadan, Kapalai, and Mabul.

“This is because the nine countries are among those that have imposed travel restrictions disallowing their citizens from visiting the eastern part of Sabah. They still have the idea of what happened some 20 years ago,” she said.

Participating countries were the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, and Finland.

“Seeing is believing. We want to tell the world that Sabah, in particular, Semporna, is a lovely place as far as diving is concerned. Today, it is not like what happened two decades ago (in an apparent reference to the kidnapping incident on Sipadan in 2000).

“So, I am very happy that the visiting delegates were quite positive about the safety and security situation in the ESSZone.

“But there is no answer as yet as the delegates have to go back to their countries to discuss the matter with the respective governments,” said Liew.

She hopes Sabah will get a positive result at the end of the day.

“This is my second working visit to Semporna and I plan to visit tourism hotspots in other places like Tawau and Sandakan,” she said.

Earlier, in her opening speech at the MITM Fair 2024, Liew expressed the hope that the Asian and European countries concerned will lift the travel ban to Sabah’s east coast for mutual benefit.