Tourism minister under fire for her ‘travel advisory’

Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen's remark that it is safe for tourists to visit Sabah is being questioned by Pakatan MPs.

PETALING JAYA: It is not the duty of the Tourism Minister to assure the safety of tourists, but the police and relevant authorities, two opposition members of parliament charged today.

Rasah MP and state assemblyman for Lobak, Anthony Loke said Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen should not be issuing statements that Sabah was safe for tourists as the advisory can only be issued by the police or the military, who had a better take on the issue at hand.

He said this while commenting on Ng’s statement yesterday that Sabah was safe for tourists and that the state was not effected by the Lahd Datu incident.

“Any travel advisory must be issued by the relevant parties. Any comment on the status of safety and security of the tourists should come from the police and IGP instead of the Tourism Ministry as they are in a better position to comment on this,” the DAP Youth chief said.

“The government should keep tourists informed on the happenings and outcomes to avoid them from having false judgment on the current crisis.

“Tourists will be definitely worried about their safety and it is an irresponsible statement to say as such. Tourists will also fear that they will be held as hostages,” he added.

Pokok Sena PAS MP Mahfuz Omar said the government should be more open in revealing details of the Lahad Datu incident.

“They need to inform the people of the real happenings. People, especially foreign tourists, must know the true picture. Not telling them the truth only endangers their lives.

“The government has mismanaged the entire situation, which could have been resolved easily and definitely tourists would be worried about their well being in our country,” he said.

Mahfuz also hoped that the tourism industry would not be effected by the crisis.

Malaysian forces are presently conducting a mopping-up operation after they launched a dawn assault on the armed group of Sultan of Sulu followers who had ‘invaded’ Sabah and killed eight policemen over the weekend at Lahad Datu.

Yesterday the US Embassy here warned its citizens against travel to the east coast of Sabah. This area includes the towns of Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, and Tawau.

Ng however had said that there was no reason for tourists to feel unsafe in any part of Sabah including Sipadan, the world famous diving spot that lures thousands of foreigners each year.