Sarawak Legislative Assembly. -Zulazhar Sheblee/The Star
KUCHING: Sarawak is waiting for the Sabah government to finalise its stand on whether or not tourism should be included in the concurrent list in the Federal Constitution before negotiating further with Putrajaya on the matter.
State Deputy Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting said the Sarawak government was consistent in its stand that the Constitution should be amended to move tourism from the federal list to the concurrent list in the Ninth Schedule.
However, he said the Sabah government had proposed instead that tourism be taken out from the lists in the Ninth Schedule and remain a residual matter.
"A further discussion between the state attorney generals' chambers of Sarawak and Sabah was initiated on Oct 13 last year to finalise the stand.
"We are waiting for the Sabah government to finalise its stand before this matter can be brought up to the federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and subsequently to the technical committee of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for further action," he told the Sarawak Legislative Assembly during question time on Thursday (May 9).
Ting said the Sarawak government remained committed to pursue and safeguard the state's special rights and position as enshrined in MA63, as well as Sarawakians' aspirations for greater autonomy.
With tourism in the concurrent list, he said, Sarawak would have the authority to make its own laws relating to tourism.
He said this included matters such as promoting investment in tourism businesses; developing human resources; improving state management of the sector; facilitating community-based and cross-border tourism; and collecting tourism tax.
He said the state would also be able to issue licences and approvals for tourist guides, the Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home programme, homestays, tourism training institutions and tourism vehicles.
