Avoiding dangerous country – Lim Mun Fah

Malaysian offshore islands are as beautiful as paradise. Tioman Island in Pahang, Redang Island in Terengganu, and Sipadan Island in Semporna, Sabah, these islands are famous for their turquoise blue waters, tropical woods, as well as colourful coral reefs and marine life. They are known as diving paradises and have become movie shooting spots. They have also helped in establishing a good international image for the country.

Surrounded by sea, Johor also has many beautiful islands. Pulau Rawa, an island gaining popularity recently, is one of them.

Unfortunately, it became famous overnight not because of its golden beaches, clear waters or tempting coral reefs, but a staggering homicide. Estonian freelance model Regina Soosalu was murdered, with her body discovered on a stretch of beach along the island. The police have arrested several suspects believed to be related to her death.

Coincidentally, a trader was sentenced to death on the same day for the murder of a French woman on Pulau Tioman three years ago. The woman was murdered and buried in a cave on the island.

On June 4, another body was found on Tioman Island and it was of a British man, who was a volunteer in a turtle conservation project on the island. The man had mysteriously disappeared and his body was found by search and rescue personnel a week later. The cause of his death remains unknown so far.

Although the three incidents that took place on our islands were unrelated, they have particularly attracted attention since the deceased were foreigners. If the situation is not properly handled, it might affect the country's image and reputation, further hitting the Malaysian tourism industry.

Several abductions on offshore islands in Sabah recently have turned the place from a tourist paradise into an abduction paradise. We should learn a lesson from it.

Needless to say, the series of murders and abductions on the country's offshore islands, together with the negative impacts brought by the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, have set a fatal blow to the tourism industry of Malaysia, causing a plunge in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country.

Tioman Island used to be listed as one of the world's top ten most beautiful islands and it gained fame after it made the backdrop for 20th Century Fox's romantic musical film 'South Pacific'. Meanwhile, Sipadan, an offshore island of Semporna is renown for diving and listed as the world's top ten diving spots. However, poor law and order may mar the beauty of these islands and scare tourists.

As everyone tends to avoid dangerous and troubled nations, the repeated abductions and death cases on our offshore islands have reflected the rampant movements of foreign terrorist militants, while highlighted our country's vulnerabilities in border security and poor law and order.

It is a wake-up call and if the authorities still do not learn from their mistakes and take action to make necessary improvements, once we are tagged as a "dangerous country" by the international community, we will certainly suffer great losses not only in tourism industry! – Sin Chew Daily