SABAH, Malaysia (22 Sep 2000) -- Long before Muslim rebels released the last dive tourists abducted from Sipadan Island, Malaysia's tourist industry and Sipadan dive operators launched a campaign to convince divers that there was no danger of another attack. The "Is Diving Safe in Sipadan?" campaign took a fatal dive on September 10 when four armed gunmen in two high-speed powerboats attacked Pandanan Island which is about as close as you can get to Sipadan without getting wet. Now the resorts are empty, or close to it, as dive tourists avoid what has become the latest victim of inadequate security in an impoverished region plagued by Islamic extremists, piracy, robbery, kidnappings, extortion and killings. The business of kidnapping is a growth industry in the region and wealthy foreign dive tourists, Europeans, Americans and Japanese are the primary target. Incredibly, Malaysia's tourist officials are still pretending all is well in Sabah. Malaysia's tourism minister, Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir continues to insist the attacks on dive resorts will have NO effect on Malaysia's $3.2bn tourist industry. | | But most Malaysians disagree. The Malaysia Star newspaper wrote that security problems "will destroy our tourist industry, wiping off years of efforts in promoting these idyllic tropical islands of Sabah as a divers paradise." The Ministry of Defense has increased security in Sabah but admitted that it cannot protect resorts from more attacks. Military troops have been deployed on resort islands and resort owners have been encouraged to hire their own security but the attempted cure may be worse than the disease. No matter how good the diving is, dive resorts that have been transformed into fortified military posts surrounded by heavily armed patrol vessels are images certain to turn away most dive travelers. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
