Asia and Oceania

• Travel Summary
• Safety and security
• Local laws and customs
• Entry requirements

• Health
• Natural disasters
• General
 

Travel Summary

• An outbreak of Cholera has been confirmed by the Malaysia Health Department in the state of Terengganu, N.E. Malaysia.
  
  
• For information about the situation in Malaysia please monitor the Malaysian Ministry of Health website.
  
  
• The Ministry of Health have an operations room for the public to call, the numbers are 03 8881 0200 and 03 8881 0300.
  
  
• There is a general threat from terrorism in Malaysia.  Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. See the Terrorism section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• Foreign nationals have been kidnapped in the past in East Malaysia and we believe that this threat remains. Boats travelling to and from offshore islands and dive sites are possible targets.  If you wish to visit resorts on, and islands off, Eastern Sabah, you should exercise extreme caution.
  
  
• If you plan to travel over the border to Thailand you should be aware that there has been a resurgence of terrorism in southern Thailand, particularly in the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla.  We advise against all but essential travel to these Thai provinces.  See the travel advice for Thailand for more details.
  
  
• You should not become involved with drugs of any kind: possession of even very small quantities can lead to imprisonment or the death penalty.  See the Local Laws and Customs section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• Around 250,000 British nationals visit Malaysia each year (Source: Immigration Malaysia).  Most visits are trouble-free.  80 British nationals required consular assistance in Malaysia in the period 01 April 2008 – 31 March 2009 for the following types of incident; deaths (29 cases); hospitalisations (10 cases); and arrests, for a variety of offences (15 cases). During this period assistance was also requested with regard to lost or stolen passports (200 cases).
  
  
• Malaysia is a multicultural but predominantly Muslim country, and as such you should respect local social conventions at all times.  See the Local Laws and Customs section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake.  See the General (Insurance) section of this advice and our Travel Insurance page for more details.