The recent abductions of four Malaysians off Sabah's East Coast by the Abu Sayyaf group has led several countries to issue travel advisories against all non-essential travel to the state. The advisory warns of a threat of kidnapping and criminality on the eastern coast of Sabah, particularly on the islands close to the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines. Today on BFM, we explore how Sabah's state government reacted to the incident, as well as what can be done to ensure the state's security and public safety.

This is a report by Jason Lim and Sonia Naidu.