PAKATAN Harapan will abolish the Tourism Tax Act if it takes over Putrajaya after the 14th general election, opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said in Kuching, Sarawak today.

The proposal will be presented at the next Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting, she said.

“Putrajaya’s failure (in raising the tax) is seen in the withdrawal of the Sarawak government from the Tourism Malaysia Board. This is a poor political indicator for Barisan Nasional,” Wan Azizah said. 

The PKR president said the party rejected the tax “in its current shape and form” after reviewing the response from the tourism and hospitality sectors and state opposition leaders.

“In fact, Sarawak MPs should have raised the concerns of Sarawakians about the tax during the bill’s debate in the last session of Parliament,” she said. 

The Tourism Tax was “hastily” passed in Parliament at 4:57am on April 6, Dr Wan Azizah said. The bill was the last of six passed in that record-setting 20-hour session. 

“They should have stood up. They should have done that because they are the stakeholders representing Sarawak,” she said. 

Pakatan leaders have said they opposed the bill en bloc

The Hansard does not record which way an MP votes.

Dr Wan Azizah said today she was not present at the vote because she was ill that day.

The tax was set to be enforced on July 1, but was deferred to August 1.

Malaysians will pay need to pay RM20 for five-star and RM15 for four-star accommodations, chargeable on a per-room, per-night basis. Foreign tourists will be charged the same rates, as well as RM10 for three-star, RM5 for two-star and RM2.50 for non-rated accommodation per room per night.

Last week, Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said discussions over the implementation of the tax was still ongoing. 

“(It) has shown yet again that Putrajaya has failed to craft policies sensitive to the economic reality faced by the people today,” Dr Wan Azizah said. 

“In fact, the chaos arising out of the announcement and subsequent postponement of this tax made by (Tourism and Culture Minister) due to objections raised by the Sarawak state government proves that there was no thorough co-ordination and planning prior to the announcement of this act’s enforcement.

“The incidents that occurred surrounding the (tax) must serve as a cautionary tale for both the Tourism Ministry and Putrajaya,” said. 

She said all bills should be given sufficient time for an “effective consultation and engagement process” with stakeholders and must go through a parliament committee “instead of being hastily debated and passed as (the tourism tax bill) was in the early hours of April 6.”

The tourism tax had caused a public spat between Nazri and Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who had called for a deferment, last month.

Immediately afterwards, Sarawak announced the following day that it was withdrawing from the Malaysia Tourism Board with immediate effect, citing duplication of the role and functions of the Sarawak Tourism Promotion Board. 

The federal government has said it stands to gain RM655 million in revenue from the tax. – July 1, 2017.