TOURISM players must submit their applications for financial assistance to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac), minister Nancy Shukri told upset Sarawak tourism players.

She said all applications for Prihatin financial assistance, Prihatin Tambah Khas or the RM35 billion Penjana package has to go through her ministry.

“If (you) want to apply for loans that related to our facilities, (you) must go through Motac,” she said at an industry dialogue in Borneo Convention Centre Kuching today.

Nancy said only a ministry committee could approve requests and not a bank.

State tourism players had a row with Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah earlier this week during a dialogue over their appeals for the state to give more funds to local operators struggling with the impact of Covid-19 on the state’s tourism.

Karim told those who were unhappy with what the state has provided to “get out of the industry”.

The Sarawak Tourism Federation said its members were not looking for bail-outs but a lifeline to survive until the industry gets back to the pre-pandemic levels.

Former Sarawak Tourism Board (STF) chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said after the dialogue with Nancy today that there had been a “miscommunication” between state players and the state government, with the wrong channels used in submitting applications for financial assistance.

STF president Audrey Wan Ullok during the dialogue today said tourism players were made to understand by banks that the RM5 billion special relief facility for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the pandemic had been exhausted.

“The industry is on the brink of failure and needs a solid 12-month plan to weather the uncertainty brought by movement control orders, travel restrictions and social distancing measures,” she said.

A recent check conducted by the industry showed that 40% of players would be forced to close their businesses if the current situation does not improve in six months from March, without government assistance. – June 27, 2020.