They have stationed numerous police and soldiers on the islands, especially Sipadan, to protect the divers. These guards are in plain clothes so that the divers will not become concerned by their presence. Additionally, these soldiers are apparently well-armed. Finally, the Malaysian navy has positioned numerous patrol vessels around these islands to keep a very close watch on the islands. One of the two biggest industries in Sabah is tourism.
Diving represents a huge part of tourism revenues.
Unfortunately, this incident and the negative press it generated has had a very deleterious effect on Sabah diving, especially at Sipadan Island. The numbers of divers, especially Americans, is substantially decreased to the point that some of the dive operations have been adversely affected. In addition to the problems sited above, Americans are now even more confused than before. Many Americans do not know the distinction between Malaysia and Indonesia. On a daily basis, they hear that the situation is politically unstable in Indonesia and the State Department advises Americans against going there because it is not safe.