KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — The French embassy here sought today to play down its government’s travel advisory warning citizens to be on the alert while in Malaysia, saying it considers the Muslim-majority country to have a low risk of terror attacks.
In an emailed response to Malay Mail Online, the French embassy’s first secretary Damien Syed said his country’s foreign affairs ministry was only advising its people to be “vigilant” not only in Malaysia, but also at home in France due to the global threat of terrorist attacks.
“We can confirm you that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers Malaysia a safe country for its citizens to live and travel in,” he said.
“In the context of the intervention of the international coalition against Daech (so-called ‘Islamic State’), and facing the increased kidnappings and hostile acts against the nationals of the coalition countries, French citizens have been invited to strengthen their vigilance,” Syed added.
The diplomat pointed out too that the French government’s travel advice page on Malaysia had also included an additional note on the spate of abductions in Sabah, which underlined the need for extra-caution as “the risk of terrorist attack appears low but cannot be totally excluded”.
A number of foreign tourists and businessmen have been snatched by armed raiders in Sabah’s restive east coast in the last few months, raising security red flags for the region.
Malaysian police have said they suspect the gunmen to be linked to militant Muslim groups in the southern Philippines taking advantage of Malaysia’s porous marine borders to take hostages who can help fuel their fights.
Malaysia has come under international scrutiny again after reports emerged of a growing number of its Muslim citizens joining militant jihadist groups in Syria, including the ultra-violent Islamic State (IS), to help fight for the creation of a caliphate.
France issued a travel advisory last week urging its citizens to be vigilant in several countries including Malaysia over fears of a threat from IS militants, following the execution of French tourist in Algeria, Hervé Gourdel.
In a posting on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Thursday, French authorities advised its citizens residing in, or passing, through Malaysia to be extra-vigilant.
This was due to the risk of kidnappings and “hostile” acts against those from France and other member countries, which is a member of an international coalition against the “Daech”, the ministry said on its travel advice page.
“Daech” is the French spelling for the Arabic-derived term “Daesh”, which the French government started using last week to call Islamic State.
The ministry also said that French citizens living overseas should notify the nearest French consulate, while those travelling were asked to register themselves using a specific system.
France’s warning prompted Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to point out that the terror group is not just recruiting militants from Islamic countries, but from western nations as well.
“If they want to give an advisory, I think the same applies to their own country, and not just unique to one country,” the minister was quoted saying in The Star Online after opening the Larut Umno annual meeting at the Taiping Golf Resort in Kamunting, Perak over the weekend.
He reportedly said threats from IS also affects Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
