Abd Karim: Sarawak, Sabah agree to put tourism on Concurrent List

KUCHING (June 15): Sarawak and Sabah have agreed to place tourism under the Concurrent List of the Federal Constitution in negotiations with the federal government recently.

Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that tourism should be taken seriously by both the federal and state governments.

“So we have agreed that Sabah, Sarawak, in our negotiations with the federal government, we want it to be placed under the Concurrent List.

“However, it has not been finalised because it is still an early discussion, and it will reach that direction,” he said when met by reporters today.

He was accompanying the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and his wife, Toh Puan Fauziah Mohd Sanusi in their visit to the Borneo Cultures Museum here.

Also present were Abdul Karim’s wife Datin Sri Zuraini Abd Jabbar; Borneo Cultures Museum director Nancy Jolhi; Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sebastian Ting; and permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datu Sherrina Hussaini.

Abdul Karim said previously tourism was not rejected either in the State List or the Concurrent List, and if it is not placed anywhere, then it will be placed as a Residual Item, which automatically becomes an item under the State List.

“However, in 1992 or 1994, the federal government at that time secretly presented a Bill and put tourism under the Federal List, without referring to the states (of Sarawak and Sabah).

“This is where it is ‘bulldozed’ secretly, and placed under the federal list. So, when things related to state rights were discussed at that time, we started asking back. Tourism should be a state affair as well,” he said.

By putting tourism on the Concurrent List in the Federal Constitution, Abdul Karim believed it would give Sarawak a lot of power in the tourism industry.

He said it may include applications for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, renewal of licenses for tour guides which are now all under the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac).

He said for any tour guide now, they need to go to West Malaysia to issue the relevant licence and study or take a course there.

“However, all those matters need to be discussed later and hopefully it will benefit both parties because it is not about money but about how Malaysia becomes better and develops in terms of tourism.

“This is for the good of all, any tourists coming to Sarawak, coming to Sabah, coming to the peninsula whether they are MM2H participants or others, it will benefit Malaysia,” he said.