KUCHING, Jan 6 — Sarawak Tourism, Culture, Arts, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Karim Rahman Hamzah today urged Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to settle the tourism tax revenue owed to the state.
“For the record RM4,653,302 tourism tax was collected from Sarawak between September 2017 and September 2018 as revealed by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) and half of that as promised should be remitted back to Sarawak.
“Why must he (Lim) get emotional and blow his top and ask Sarawak to pay back its outstanding loan to the federal government which is totally unrelated to the question I raised?” Karim asked.
Karim had earlier asked the federal government to settle the RM2.7 million share of tourism tax revenue to Sarawak for which Lim responded and asked Sarawak government to settle its RM2.6 billion loans to Putrajaya instead.
Karim said Sarawak’s loan owed to the federal government has its own terms and conditions of repayment and it is not for him to dwell into that subject matter.
“That is for the state government to address and I know the state government knows of its obligation in paying its loan or debt.
“I hope Lim does not play politics and focus on improving Malaysian economy which includes Sarawak as well. Denying us of our portion of tourism tax revenue is not helping Sarawak tourism industry as well as the Malaysian economy.
“There is no intention to defame, politicise or accuse anybody here but as the minister looking after Sarawak tourism I'm just asking what was promised whether from the previous government or the present government of the day.
“Both have agreed and announced in Parliament that 50 per cent of the tourism tax collected by any state would be channeled back to the respective states for the purpose of tourism development and activities,” he said.
