KUALA LUMPUR: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) has refuted the advisory by the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which caution its citizens against travelling to all islands off the coast of eastern Sabah.
The FCO, in its website, listed Kudat, Tawau, Mabul, Sipadan, and Semporna, among others, as destinations that should be avoided following terrorist threats.
It said: "The FCO advise against all but essential travel to all islands off the coast of eastern Sabah from Kudat to Tawau, including (but not limited to) Lankayan, Mabul, Pom Pom, Kapalai, Litigan, Sipadan and Mataking."
Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali however said the advisory on the website was made without consulting them.
"I don't know where they got the information...the advisory must have come from their own evaluation...they never consulted Esscom...which is in turn portraying Sabah in a wrong picture," he told the NST.
He said the Esscom has beefed up the security in its area which resulted in no untoward incidents involving tourists throughout 2017.
He said last year, Esscom had briefed the European Union diplomats in a session in Kota Kinabalu which was attended by 16 representatives.
"The FCO should have done the same to get a clearer picture of the situation in the Eastern Sabah."
Hazani said, on the other hand, the number of tourists in Sabah had tremendously increased last year, with 1,400 tourists from all over the world, notably, China, coming to Sabah on a daily basis for a myriad of activities including diving.
The FCO, in its website updated on Oct 6 last year and still current as of Jan 2, cautioned the British citizens to take great care in the town of Sandakan and along the coastal area south to Tawau, and in and around Lahad Datu and Semporna.
It said that 400,000 British citizens visit Malaysia each year.