Kidnapping in S'kan affecting legal sector
Published on: Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The recent kidnapping incident in Sandakan has affected the legal industry, as well, according to legal practitioners.They said that the incident has affected not only the tourism industry but also other industries such as property development, which in turn jeopardised the business prospects of law firms."Potential investors were still adopting a 'wait and see' attitude in the wake of kidnapping incidents in 2013 and 2014.
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But it is the latest episode that has sealed our fate."This has either directly or indirectly impacted our firms' income," they told Daily Express. One legal practitioner said her firm undertakes various conveyancing transactions which have since been adversely affected."Prior to the last incident, our anchor clients from Peninsular Malaysia were negotiating to purchase a few pieces of land in Sandakan with the aim to develop the same into commercial and residential units with a very large gross development value," she explained.
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As a result of the recent case, the clients have decided to keep in view their intention to invest, the lawyer pointed out.In another instance, an investor from China was planning to purchase a piece of property in Sabah as a retirement home for his parents under the Malaysia My Second Home (M2SH) programme which was aggressively promoted in China.
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"I was attracted to the programme but now I am not sure whether I am making the right choice after those repeated kidnaps," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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