KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will seek discussion with Sarawak Tourism Ministry to deliberate on several pertinent issues of the Tourism Act in order to draft a joint memorandum.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said this is being done in the spirit of cooperation with the neighbouring state, consistent with the previous understanding to come up with a joint stand on the tax concerned.
The outcome of the discussion would be submitted to the states respective Chief Minister and state Cabinet as a draft memorandum, he said in a statement here.
He added that the joint memorandum would then be handed to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, by both Chief Ministers.
The tourism tax comes under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
"The Sabah Cabinet in its meeting on Thursday discussed at lengths on the tax and state Cabinet members accepted and took note of the merits of the Act.
"However the state Cabinet feels there is a need for further deliberations and clarity on some key issues of the Act to ensure the state tourism industry benefits from it," Masidi said, adding his ministry was entrusted to deliberate on the matter and to report back to the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and state Cabinet on their findings and proposals.
"Sabah wants to contribute ideas and proposals to fine-tune certain provisions of the Act to strengthen the tourism industry.
"The industry has been a very resilient industry and at times the saviour of our economy during challenging time.
"In the case of Sabah, it's the only major industry that is controlled by the locals in term of employment. It is crucial that the industry is well managed and regulated," said Masidi.