McFeeters said the embassy has been in touch with the companies established in the country and, so far, they have not voiced any concern over the political drama unfolding by the day in the nation.
“We follow the issue very closely and we are very interested in the outcome, as there could be developments even today,” he told reporters in a virtual call today.
“But in terms of your question about current US investors and potential ones, we are in contact with them, I don’t get from them a sense of ‘we have to be cautious about staying in Malaysia because of the political situation’.
“They tend to be long-term investors in Malaysia, some (have been here) over 30 years … one company has been here for 100 years. They employ a lot of Malaysians too.
‘They are coping with Covid-19 like everybody else but we don’t have them coming to us and saying ‘Malaysia’s too unstable and we have to leave’.”
McFeeters was speaking to the Sabah press as part of his virtual visit to the state. This is his second virtual tour outside of the Klang Valley after his visit to Penang since assuming his new role last February.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador said the US$1 million (RM4.2 million) grant to Sabah for wildlife conservation efforts was aimed at enhancing inter-agency capacity and forensic as well as investigative needs in the state in the field.
McFeeters said the grant was provided some time ago and he was glad the programmes have resumed after many delays because of the pandemic.
Asked whether the deaths of wildlife in Sabah in recent times, which included some brutal killings of the Bornean pygmy elephants, would affect future contributions by the US, he said: “It would be a judgment of need.”
“It’s what is needed by Malaysia, and we will make a very great effort at the embassy level to continue assistance. It remains a priority for the US government,” he said.
He added that wildlife trafficking, environmental preservation and climate change were three key priority areas for his government.
“It’s basically how we assist the Malaysia government and officials, and dedicated NGOs in making progress in those three areas.
“But I would say there’s a particular emphasis, or renewed emphasis, on the climate change aspect,” McFeeters said, adding Sabah was at the centre of their efforts because of its unique biodiversity and wonderfully preserved forests.
On security, he said the US was “very impressed” with security measures taken by the Malaysian government in the Sabah east coast, a region known for kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) activities.
He said he had also spoken to chief minister Hajiji Noor during a recent virtual call and relayed the embassy’s appreciation of the efforts, particularly the setting up of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom).
Despite the improvement to security, McFeeters noted that his government has yet to lift the no-travel advisory for their citizens to this part of the country, as the situation has not been completely addressed.
“In terms of the security situation, the US has a duty to our citizens to talk about the dangers, and we will re-evaluate based on conditions on the ground.
“But we do recognise Malaysia and the Sabah government have taken steps to improve the situation, as we understand the number of KFR incidents are down.
“But I guess I can’t tell you when the area will be deemed as safe for US citizens to travel there. That depends on further developments,” he said.
The US Embassy will also continue to assist Malaysia to fight the pandemic, which is a priority for the US government.
In addition to the one million doses of Pfizer vaccines donated to Malaysia in July, the US government has also provided RM3.5 million to boost Covid-19 testing capacity in Sabah.
Another RM2 million was also given for ambulance donations and other support to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) in Sabah and Sarawak last year.