KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry is urging the United States to immediately remove Malaysia from the “K” list and will summon the American envoy here for clarification.
“The Foreign Affairs Ministry strongly protests the decision of the US government to subject Malaysia to the newly-introduced ‘K’ indicator,” it said.
The ministry noted that Malaysia’s inclusion was announced in a travel advisory issued by the US State Department on April 9.
It said the move reflected the US government’s concern about potential kidnapping or hostage-taking situations in certain areas of eastern Sabah.
“Further, the number of kidnapping incidents has dropped significantly to almost nil. Eastern Sabah continues to attract world-class divers,” it said in a statement on Sunday (April 14).
This success, it said, was the result of proactive measures taken by the Malaysian government, such as increasing the number of patrols, closer security cooperation with neighbouring countries and the strategic positioning of security assets to secure the areas.
“Given these facts, Malaysia urges the US to be more objective in its assessment. We urge the US to immediately remove Malaysia from the ‘K’ list.
“The US ambassador to Malaysia will be summoned to provide clarification on the new travel advisory,” the ministry said.
