Sarawak hopes to resolve tourism issue with govt without court battle

2026-03-06 - 08:23

Sarawak tourism minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said court action will only be a last resort for the state government to share regulatory authority over the tourism sector. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: Sarawak tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has expressed hope that talks with Putrajaya on regulatory authority over tourism would conclude without a court battle. Karim said the Sabah and Sarawak governments have proposed placing tourism under the Federal Constitution’s Concurrent List to allow the sector to be jointly managed by the state and federal governments. He said the Sarawak government was not seeking full control over tourism but to share the responsibility with Putrajaya, Borneo Post reported. The state government would only consider taking legal action if negotiations with the federal government fail. “If we can’t resolve it, the last resort is bringing it to court. But we hope it will not come to that,” he was quoted as saying. Tourism currently falls under the Federal List under the constitution. Karim argued that when the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was signed in 1963 and the federal, state and concurrent lists under the constitution were drawn up, tourism was not deemed a major economic sector. He said it was only placed on the Federal List in 1994 through a constitutional amendment after Malaysia recognised the sector’s economic potential. However, he said, any amendment to the constitution that affects the states must first involve consultations and their consent, adding that this was not done in 1994. Yesterday, the national finance council agreed to increase federal allocations to the state governments, including the distribution of tourism tax revenues. The finance ministry said 100% of tourism tax collections would be channelled directly to the respective states, compared to the current practice of sharing only 50%. Last month, Sabah Attorney-General Brenndon Keith Soh said the state government was set to reclaim regulatory authority over tourism as part of ongoing efforts to restore its rights under MA63.