Sarawak seeks autonomous tourism rights for boost

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KUCHING (Bernama) – The reinstatement of autonomous rights for the tourism sector in Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) will allow Sarawak to facilitate various tourism matters, including cross-border tourism and promoting investment in local businesses.
 
Sarawak’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew said the state government has been actively pursuing the matter with the federal government to remove ‘tourism’ from Item 25A (Tourism) in List I (Federal List) to List III (Concurrent List) of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution. “With the collaboration and cooperation between Sarawak and the federal government under the Concurrent List, if the amendment is approved, the Sarawak government will have the authority to make legislation relating to tourism in Sarawak.
 

“Sarawak will also have the flexibility to adapt tourism matters into the local law in terms of developing tourism human resource, collection of tourism tax by Sarawak government and issuing tourist guide license,” he said in reply to Datuk Lo Khere Chiang (GPS-Batu Kitang) during a question and answer session at the state assembly sitting on Thursday.

Ting further explained that, originally, ‘tourism’ was not in any of the legislative lists in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, however in 1994, the word ‘tourism’ was inserted into the Federal List of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution by Act A885 and come into force on the 26th of June 1994.

He said several discussions with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture and the Sabah government are being held before finalising the proposed amendments in the MA63 Implementation Action Council Technical Committee meeting. 

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