KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 ― Datuk Musa Aman said today the Sabah government has no plans to close any holiday getaways in the state’s remote islands, despite the recent abduction of two women from a resort in Semporna.
According to The Star Online, the Sabah chief minister was in disagreement with the suggestion made by deputy home minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
“We will not close the island resorts. I will tell Wan Junaidi that,” Musa was quoted saying.
Last Thursday, Sabah police confirmed that a group of seven armed men snatched 29-year-old Chinese tourist Gao Hua Yuan and 40-year-old resort staff Marcy Dayawan, a Filipino at around 10.30pm on Wednesday.
Police suspect that the late-night abduction at the Singamata Reef Resort was carried out with “inside” help, and also believe that the gunmen belonged to groups operating from the southern Philippines.
Singamata Reef Resort is built over a reef and is said to be located less than 30 minutes away from Semporna, a coastal town on the east coast of Sabah.
After the incident, Wan Junaidi said last Friday that all resorts near Semporna should be closed as their safety could not be guaranteed.
The deputy minister was immediately criticised for his remark, with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) saying yesterday that the government should focus on nabbing the crooks instead of punishing the state's tourism industry.
In a statement here, the association blamed the weak security at the islands off Semporna on squatter water villages and illegal immigrants, saying their presence made it difficult for Malaysian armed personnel to identify and nab criminals.
“Solve the illegal immigrants issue and resettle the squatter water villages will enhance security and prevent further embarrassing and repeat abductions,” MATTA vice-president K. L. Tan said.
He added that instead of being “intimidated by a bunch of criminals”, the government should beef up the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) to ensure public security.
ESSCOM was set up after last year’s Sulu incursion to coordinate security forces — Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agencies (MMEA) — to ensure safety in the porous borders of Sabah.
Various reports last year said Sabah tourism took a hit after a group of gunmen claiming to be followers of the Sulu Sultanate in southern Philippines invaded Kampung Tanduo, a coastal village in Lahad Datu, on February 2013.
The invasion triggered a bloody armed confrontation with Malaysian security forces and lasted a month.
Last November, a Taiwanese tourist was shot dead at a Pom-Pom Island resort while his wife was abducted before her rescue more than a month later; while 21 tourists were kidnapped by Philippines militant group Abu-Sayyaf in 2000.
Reports said that tourist arrivals and hotel bookings in Sabah, particularly hotels the state capital Kota Kinabalu, dropped following the confrontation.
