DISCUSSIONS to confer Sarawak with powers of legislation over tourism have been “a little bit slow”, Abdul Karim Hamzah said.

The state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister told The Malaysian Insight that negotiations with the federal government to move the tourism matter in List I (the federal list) of the Federal Constitution to List III (concurrent list) had slowed down as the people involved in the talks are “busy with the (general) election”.

“The parties could not sit down. They are so busy,” he said when commenting on the statement made by Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Office (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali in the state legislative assembly today, that the Sarawak government has proposed amendments to the legislative list in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution to transfer tourism from the federal list to the concurrent list.

Karim would not say how much had been achieved in the talks to date.

“It’s premature (to talk about it now).”

He also would not reveal the specifics of what had been discussed.

“Whatever it is, we will push on.”

Nonetheless, Karim was upbeat about the talks, “at the end of the day, we will come up with some kind of solution,” he said.

Tourism was not a subject matter in the federal list, the state or concurrent lists when Malaysia was formed.

It was in the residual list as “nobody then knew the importance of tourism at that time”, Karim said.

He said since it was in the residual list, tourism should automatically be a state matter and comes under the purview of the state.

However, in 1994, tourism was placed in the federal list when the Federal Constitution was amended.

Karim said putting tourism in the federal list in the amendment was furtively done.

“It was pushed into the federal list discreetly. There was no debate.

“None of our MPs from Sarawak debated on it. The state government was also not informed nor was consent sought.”

Hasidah also told the state assembly that among other demands still under discussion are the administration of the judiciary in Sabah and Sarawak, increase in the number of MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, having Sarawak government representatives on the board of directors of the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and a review of the annual special grant under article 112D of the Federal Constitution.

She said the Sarawak government will continue the discussions to ensure that the demands are successfully resolved.

On the membership claims to the IRB board, Hasidah said Sarawak has submitted its proposed candidate.

She said a spot on the board was important to the state “to ensure that the Sarawak government is aware of the country’s financial position, among others, and to assist the state government’s efforts in discussions and negotiations on special grants under article 112D of the Federal Constitution”.

She said, however, the state government has not received any feedback from the federal government on the matter. – May 20, 2022.