Christina Liew Urges Japan To Lift Travel Ban To Sabahan Islands

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Sabah tourism, culture and environment minister Christina Liew encouraged Japanese ambassador Shikata Noriyuki to visit the islands to assess their security level. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: The Sabah government has urged Japan to review its travel ban to the state’s islands.
Sabah tourism, culture and environment minister Christina Liew said the request was brought up to Shikata Noriyuki, the Japanese ambassador to Malaysia, earlier this week during a courtesy call.
The Daily Express reported that Liew also encouraged Noriyuki to visit the islands to assess the security level there.
“Overall, Sabah is a safe destination to visit. The kidnapping incident involving Pulau Sipadan occurred more than 20 years ago,” Liew was quoted as telling Noriyuki during an event.
Twenty-one hostages were kidnapped by a group of Aby Sayyaf bandits at Sipadan in 2000, with most hostages released in the following months. One later escaped in 2003.
In December, it was reported that Japan had partially removed its travel restrictions on Japanese nationals to certain east coast areas, such as Tawau, Sandakan and Lahad Datu. However, travel to islands off Semporna remains prohibited.
In response, Noriyuki said the Japanese government would review its policy “appropriately” if the situation is deemed to have “significantly improved” after an assessment of the current situation.
He also called for greater publicity on Sabah so that Japanese nationals could gain a better understanding of the latest developments in the state.
Both Liew and Noriyuki said greater tourism exchanges between Sabahans and the Japanese could be achieved by reinstating air connections between Kota Kinabalu and cities like Tokyo and Narita.
They also welcomed the return of flights between Kota Kinabalu and Haneda on Feb 24 following a long lapse. - FMT

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