Tourism tax share: Nazri asks Sabah, Sarawak to talk to him

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz yesterday urged the Sabah and Sarawak governments to speak directly to him if they have any misgivings about the tourism tax share.

Nazri said the leaders of the two state governments have not approached him to discuss the matter.

“They have not [approached me], they only talked in the papers. What’s the point of talking to the press?”

“If you want to know [about the tax collection], come and see me. If he is not, I have no time for him. Don’t waste my time.

“I take that you are not serious, you just want to make yourself well known and popular,” he said at a news conference after launching a wax museum in I-City, Shah Alam.

Nazri announced that the tourism tax will not be applicable to Malaysians, but foreigners will have to pay a flat fee of RM10 per room per night, regardless of the star rating of a hotel.

He added that 10% of the tax collected will be returned to the respective states’ tourism agencies to support their promotion activities. This differred from his statement last month on the distribution.

Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the federal government must explain to Sarawak and Sabah why their share of the tourism tax collected from foreigners visiting Malaysia has been reduced to RM1 for every RM10 collected when originally the total collection was to be divided equally among Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.

His Sabah counterpart, Datuk Masidi Manjun, said the plight of Sabah and Sarawak should be seen from a different light considering that most of the tourism promotions of both states are carried out by the tourism boards of the respective state governments.