The government has rejected claims in a United States travel advisory that Sabah is unsafe for tourists.

The popular holiday destination which has some of the world's best dive spots was well protected and safe, Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Zainal Abidin Osman told today's New Straits Times .

"The Malaysian government has been keeping the security of the area in check around the clock and the situation is under control," he said.

The US State Department public announcement on Monday expressed "concern about the safety of American citizens, especially those contemplating travel along the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah".

The advisory, an update to an alert issued in May, pointed out that there have been several kidnapping and piracy incidents in the area since 2000.

Possibility of more kidnappings

One of the latest reported international kidnapping cases was in October 2003, when six Indonesian and Filipino workers were abducted from a coastal resort in eastern Sabah.

"There are indications of planned additional kidnappings in eastern Sabah's coastal areas, especially at resorts frequented by foreigners," the advisory said.

But Zainal said "holiday spots in the area are safe and not threatening as claimed. The military personnel on the 32 islands in the area have enhanced security in not only the area but Sabah as a whole."

Some 800 army personnel had been deployed to Sabah's coastal area to guarantee the security of locals and tourists, and this figure did not include those patrolling in naval ships or aircraft, he said.