Like rubbing salt into wound

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KOTA KINABALU: Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s statement that certain places in Sabah were still unsafe for tourists and tourism officials should not promote the state is like to rubbing salt into a wound, said Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) president Dato’ Seri Winston Liaw.

“Tourism players and travel agencies in Sabah are in a dire state now, (and) Nazri’s remark is adding fuel to the fire.”

Liaw said Nazri did not understand the problems tourism players faced in Sabah.

“As the federal Tourism and Culture Minister, he should not discourage tourists from visiting Sabah.

“Instead, he should allocate more budget to promote Sabah in the China market to woo back Chinese tourists,” Liaw said when contacted yesterday, adding that Nazri should retract his statement.

He said tourist arrivals from Japan and Korea were on the rebound, but the Chinese tourist arrivals were growing at a slow rate.

Nazri said in parliament on Monday that he would not guarantee the safety of tourists visiting Sabah due to the two recent kidnappings.

The minister was quoted as saying that he would not order tourism officials abroad to promote Sabah, and he personally would not visit Lahad Datu.

If Sabah was unsafe for tourists as Nazri had claimed, Liaw said the federal minister should meet with Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) officers to obtain a clearer picture of the current situation as well as request for public opinion on ways to boost security in the state.

“No one can guarantee zero crime rate in any parts of the world, but that does not mean we should discourage tourists from visiting,” he pointed out.

If Sabahans ask tourists not to go to West Malaysia, how will Nazri feel?

“He (Nazri) should do more to encourage tourists to visit Sabah and see that our place is safe,” Liaw said.

Sabah Consumer Affairs and Protection Society president James Bagah said Nazri’s comment is destroying Sabah’s tourism industry.

“As a tourism minister, he should not have revealed to the world that Sabah is an unsafe destination. He is in fact destroying our tourism industry,” he said.

James also said Nazri’s comment reflected the failure of the federal government to protect Sabah from outside threats since security was their responsibility.

Kepayan assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi said that Nazri’s comment indicated that the federal government could not guarantee the safety of Sabahans and visitors.

“He hints that security in Sabah is not assured despite the establishment of ESScom,” said Edwin, adding that Nazri probably knew the extensive network of the enemy within Sabah, hence the comment.