U.S. State Dept Lists Malaysia Among 35 Countries With High Kidnapping Risk in Travel Advisory

On Tuesday (9th April), United States State Department announced in a statement that its travel advisories have been updated to include a new indicator warning American travellers of kidnapping risks in 35 countries.

Malaysia is among these 35 countries, receiving a “K” indicator on its travel advisory page, marking it as one of the countries with a high risk for kidnapping, as indicated in a screenshot from the department’s website below.

Source: u. S. State department

Malaysia received the “K” label due to the kidnapping risks in Sabah. An excerpt from the updated travel advisory for Malaysia reads,

“There is a threat of kidnappings-for-ransom from both terrorist and criminal groups. These groups may attack with little to no warning, targeting coastal resorts, island resorts, and boats ferrying tourists to resort islands.”

“The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in eastern Sabah as U.S. government employees must obtain special authorisation to travel to parts of eastern Sabah. ”

Source: the star

Apart from Malaysia, the 34 other countries with a high kidnapping risk are listed below:

• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Angola
• Bangladesh
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Colombia
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Ethiopia
• Haiti
• Iran
• Iraq
• Kenya
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mali
• Mexico
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Russian Federation
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turkey
• Uganda
• Ukraine (in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine)
• Venezuela
• Yemen

According to the New Straits Times, the U.S. State Department introduced the newly-improved travel advisory programme and ranked Malaysia at Level One (exercise normal precautions), which is the lowest advisory level. Level Two advises travellers to “exercise increased caution,” Level Three advisers people to“reconsider travel,” while Level Four warns travellers, “do not travel.”

An excerpt from the State Department’s statement reads,

“The Department issues Travel Advisories for every country around the world, offering standardized levels of advice based on established risk indicators such as crime, terrorism, civil unrest, natural disasters, health, and other potential risks.”

According to the U.S. State Department’s website, Malaysia is still overall ranked at Level One, but the state of Sabah is ranked at a Level Two.

What are your thoughts on this latest update? Let us know in the comments section!

Also read: Penang Named One of Top 19 Destinations to Visit in 2019 By CNN Travel