KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — More than two million foreign and local tourists visited the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) in 2017, reflecting their confidence in security measures by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom).

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the number increased by 7.5 per cent compared with more than 1.8 million tourists in 2016.

"The allegations of some who say that ESSZone is an unsafe area is not true at all, ESSZone is currently under control,” he said when winding up the debate on the address of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

In fact, Shahidan said last year, no kidnapping was reported in the ESSZone area compared to 10 kidnapping cases in the previous year.

Commenting further, he said the enforcement of curfew in the waters of ESSZone did not affect the tourists, instead it ensured their safety with patrols and continuous monitoring by the authorities.

"Enforcement of curfew is only from 6pm to 6am, this does not prevent tourist movements during the day,” he said. — Bernama