Sabah tourism, economy under threat

The rampant abduction cases has convinced Chinese nationals to travel to alternative destinations..

KOTA KINABALU: The high frequency of kidnappings has given Sabah a bad reputation and the blame is being put on the East Sabah Security Command’s (Esscom) failure to enforce a safe environment.

The Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) president Michael Lui said that the recent low number of tourist arrivals from China was an indicator of ‘worse to come’ and called for Esscom to be replaced as Sabahans had lost confidence in its command.

“Sabahans have lost confidence in Esscom’s ability to protect security in the east coast of Sabah.

“The government must re-evaluate Esscom’s effectiveness in carrying out its tasks, take proper measures and establish an upgraded security body to replace Esscom.

“I hope that our chief minister Musa Aman is able to convince the federal government to strengthen our security assets on behalf of Sabahans.” he said.

“Labour Day is known as the ‘golden week’ in China as its citizens enjoy a seven-day holiday. However this year the tourist numbers for the first week of May was significantly low, especially from the Chinese sector.”

“The rampant abduction cases has convinced Chinese nationals to travel to alternative destinations.”

Investor confidence shaken

Lui said that the recent abduction of 34-year-old China national Yang Zailin will cause negative ripples on Sabah’s economy as the weak security will shake the confidence of foreign investors.

Yang, who worked at the Wonderful Terrrace Company (reported to be owned by a Chinese national) as a fish breeding farm manager, was taken by five armed men at Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu around 2.45am on Tuesday.

The abduction is seen as terrible setback for Esscom as they had showcased their latest military equipment to reporters in a joint security exercise in Semporna just the day before.

Esscom director-general Mohammad Mentek had also previously sent out an alert on possible kidnappings being carried out in the next two or three months but the warning was not taken seriously.

Prior to this, there was the Singamata resort abduction of another China national Gao Hua Yuan, 29, and Filipino Marcy Dayawan, 40, on April 2 in Semporna.

According to Lui, the Chinese consulate in Kuching are advising its citizens to be extra vigilant and to avoid travelling to remote islands in Sabah.

Echoing Lui’s concern for the tourism sector is Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) persident, Winston Liaw.

“The Semporna abduction had already affected the tourism industry badly. This latest kidnapping in Pulau Baik will worsen the situation,” Liaw said.

He added that the curfew imposed by Esscom on the banning of night activities would be of some help to prevent abductions as all the previous cases had happened at night.

“There are fewer night tourism activities so it would not really make a great impact on tourism.”

Liaw also urged the government to conduct a study on how to improve the security in Sabah as he feels that the existing efforts are ineffective.

FMT Borneo Plus