Malaysian tourists do not need to worry about visiting Southern Thailand, particularly in Pattani Province, despite recent incidents of bombings and attacks by armed groups.

Pattani Governor, Pateemoh Sadeeyamu, said that the security situation in Southern Thailand, especially in this province, is under control, with residents continuing their activities as usual.

“What happened occurred in remote areas and did not disrupt the activities of the villagers.

“The programme organized by 20 universities from Malaysia in the Yaring District, Pattani, from August 8 to 11, demonstrated that the security situation is under control.

“The organizers of the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HARD) programme, which include the Ministry of Higher Education, the Malaysian University Volunteer Council (MASKUM), and the Education Development Foundation – Perkasa Siswa Foundation (YPS), carried out various activities in Nong Rat Sub-district.

“This shows their confidence in the security control in Pattani Province,” she said during a meeting with Apa Khabar TV.

Pateemoh, who is affectionately known as ‘Kak Moh’, also thanked the programme organizers for providing assistance to those in need.

“Thank you to the Ministry of Higher Education and various universities from Malaysia for sacrificing their time and energy and choosing Pattani Province to organize these beneficial activities this time.

“And I hope that activities like this will continue in the future. May this not be the last. There should be a second, third, and more, as we are neighboring countries,” she added.

She also attended the aid distribution ceremony held at the Nong Rat Sub-district Community Hall, where she acknowledged that incidents disturbing the peace of residents still occur.

“I can’t say it’s over… incidents of attacks and violence still happen… but the security situation is under control,” she said.

The HARD programmes was led by MASKUM Chairman, who is also the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Prof Dr. Norkhalid Salimin.

Among the main activities held during the programme were community services, where volunteers installed solar lights in community halls and mosques, provided bore wells, and conducted English language classes for Tahfiz students.

Dr. Norkhalid said that the programmes is an international-level social service activity involving about 115 students and officers from 20 Malaysian public universities.