LGE: Hey S'wak, we're fair; even Sabah not paid tourism money yet

PUTRAJAYA: The fact that the Sabah government says it too has not received tourism tax revenue shows that the federal government does not discriminate against any states, including Sarawak, says Lim Guan Eng.

The Finance Minister said he had made it known that all states would receive their share of the tax revenue by the first quarter of 2019, as the ministry had to finalise the accounts.

“It has only been seven days (into 2019). There is some work to do before we distribute the money.

"Give us a bit of time,” he told reporters on Tuesday (Jan 8) after presenting a cheque of RM25mil as financial assistance to registered Islamic religious schools.

Lim chided Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah over allegations he made on Jan 5 that the federal government owes the state RM2.7mil in tourism tax revenue from September 2017.

Abdul Karim claimed that he had checked with the Sabah government, which told him that it had been paid.

However, on Jan 7, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said the state had yet to receive its share of the tourism tax revenue from the federal government.

During Budget 2019, the Pakatan Harapan government announced a 50% share of the proceeds from the tax collection in the states starting this year.