Chinese tourists in Sabah appeal for visa extension amid coronavirus fears

KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - An air of uncertainty hangs over the question of when the thousands of China tourists in Sabah could get home amid the Borneo state's suspension of commercial flights from the republic.

Some of them, however, hope to be allowed to stay longer.

With the coronavirus outbreak - which first started in Hubei province last month - the Chinese tourists have cited health and safety reasons in their appeal for a visa extension.

Some China nationals said they preferred to remain in Sabah for now.

A family of four from Wuhan - the provincial capital of Hubei and epicentre of the epidemic - who have been vacationing in Sabah since Jan 22 are not willing to take the risk of returning home yet.

Ms Chen Wei, 38, said her parents aged 69 and 63 were frail and had health conditions.

When met at the state Immigration Department office at the Sabah Federal Government Administrative Complex on Tuesday (Feb 4), she expressed disappointment as they were only allowed a one-week visa extension.

"My parents, my 11-year-old son and I have all been tested and cleared of the virus," she said.

"At first, there were 13 of us in a group but the others had left; I stay behind with the family as I am worried about my parents."

Last Friday, 123 tourists from Hubei flew home on a Xiamen Airlines aircraft from Kota Kinabalu as part of the China government's initiative to bring their nationals home.

Ms Chen said they brought medical letters to support their appeal with the immigration officers in the hope of getting their visas extended for two to three weeks but to no avail.

The China consulate-general here, too, could not do anything more for them, said Ms Chen, adding that their visas expire on Wednesday.

Ms Chen lamented that this was not the hospitality they expected, what with Visit Malaysia 2020 and Sabah's tourism sector mostly benefiting from China visitors.

"I do not know what they expect us to do; even if we go back, we are not allowed to enter the city (Wuhan) so the best is to stay here as have been recommended by the doctors until it is safe to leave," she said.

Her compatriot from Kunming, Ms Zhang Fen, whose visa expires on Thursday, said she was initially in Kuala Lumpur but flew to Sabah after a friend told her that she could get a visa extension of up to two weeks.

However, the 31-year-old who came to Malaysia via Kota Kinabalu on Jan 23 learnt that she could only get a maximum of seven days' extension for her visa.

"But I have already bought my AirAsia return flight ticket to Kunming for Feb 15 and the date is not changeable, so that is a loss for me," she said.

While the Sabah government stated that it was cooperating with its Chinese counterparts to facilitate the return of their citizens, a clear plan of action has yet to emerge.

The total number of China nationals still in Sabah is yet to be determined as efforts to get the figures from the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry and the state Immigration Department have proved futile.

At present, visa extension is only granted for seven days, though sources say it might be up for review during the state Cabinet meeting later on Wednesday.

"This is being considered if the tourists are healthy and can afford the hotel stay," said a source from the ministry.

"Also, to clarify, not that many are stranded as some are still holidaying here."

Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew was said to have met with China's consul-general for Kota Kinabalu Liang Caide on Tuesday.

It is believed that the meeting discussed concerns raised by the consulate-general over thousands of its nationals being "stranded" following the state government's decision to stop all China nationals from entering Sabah via direct commercial flights from the republic.

Datuk Liew's meeting with Mr Liang came a day after she met with airline officials and tourism players on Monday to resolve the issue involving the China visitors, including helping those unable to get flights out.

Ms Liew, who has refrained from making media statements after her meetings over the last 48 hours, is expected to brief the state Cabinet on Wednesday.

Sabah gets about 50,000 Chinese tourists who fly in via 117 direct or chartered flights from various cities in China every month, according to tourism statistics.