KOTA KINABALU: Australia’s travel advisory for parts of eastern Sabah, previously under the orange category (reconsider to travel), has been reduced to yellow (high alert).

According to Australian travel site smartraveller https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/malaysia, the travel advice level has now been revised to ‘exercise a high degree of caution for mainland regions along the shoreline between Terusan to Tawau’, dated Aug 8.

This includes waterfront resorts and beaches due to the risk of kidnapping.

Despite this, it continues to advise their citizens to reconsider their need to travel offshore to the islands, resorts, dive sites of Eastern Sabah, south of and including Lankayan Island, to Tawau, due to the risk of kidnapping for ransom.

The safety advice for Malaysia in general is at the normal safety precautions stage.

In a travel advisory dated May 31, 2024, Australians were advised to reconsider their need to travel to the coastal parts of eastern Sabah, including islands, dive sites and associated tourist facilities, due to the high threat of kidnapping.

It stated that the risk of kidnapping increases on the water and waterfront after nightfall, with the highest in the area between the towns of Sandakan and Tawau.

They were cautioned against travelling to these areas due to the ongoing high risk of kidnapping in the coastal areas of eastern Sabah.

Australians were told that if, despite the advice, they choose to travel to these areas, they should get professional security advice and obey all local governments' curfews.

Currently, there is a dusk-to-dawn movement control order (previously called a curfew) in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) areas of Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, Sandakan, Kinabatangan and Beluran.