SABAH and Sarawak seek a larger share of revenue from a proposed tourism tax as a condition to implementing the controversial move next month, officials from both states said today.

Leaders from the Borneo states had a “very successful” meeting today where they agreed to push for more favourable provisions in the new tax scheme.

“The finer points will be revealed after the respective chief ministers of each state have been informed,” Sarawak Tourism Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah told The Malaysian Insight.

“It was a very successful meeting that we had with our Sabah Tourism counterparts,” said Karim.

Ministry officials from both states met this morning to discuss the Tourism Tax Act 2017. The Sabah delegation was led by Sabah Tourism Minister Masidi Manjun.  

Representatives from the hospitality and tourism industry were also present at the meeting.

Karim declined to comment as to when further details would be announced by the chief ministers.

“It is not just about the tax but also how we share common issues on our state’s rights as well as the development of the tourism industry in our two states,” he said.

Malaysia received 26.8 million tourists in 2016, according to the Tourism Ministry. Of that figure, Sarawak received 2.26 million foreign visitors and an additional 2.4 million visitors from the peninsula and Sabah, according to the Sarawak Immigration Department.

In the same period, Sabah received 1.13 million foreign visitors and 2.23 million domestic visitors, according to the Sabah Immigration Department.

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

Malaysians will be required to pay RM20 for five-star and RM15 for four-star accommodations, chargeable on a per room, per night basis.

There are 14 five-star and and 30 four-star hotels in Sarawak, a search on travel website Booking.com showed. In Sabah, there are 28 five-star and 35 four-star hotels in Sabah.

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.

On today’s meeting Sarawak tourism state assistant minister Lee Kim Shin said, “It was a fruitful meeting for both sides. Getting more (of the tax) revenue was our common goal.”

Lee said tourism officials from both states had also met informally in early June.

Masidi, when contacted after the meeting, said that there were suggestions by delegates to fine tune the provisions of the tax but declined to elaborate.

“The interest of Sabah and Sarawak tourism industry is the overriding consideration in the preparation of the memorandum on this tax.

“The industry’s growth and sustainability are crucial to the future economic well-being of the two Borneo states,” he said.

The memorandum of both ministers would then be handed over to the chief ministers of the respective states, who will present them to the prime minister.

Last Tuesday, Masidi had offered to form a joint stand to refine the tourism tax, scheduled to be implemented on August 1.

The tax drew criticism from those from the industry and eventually led to a row between Abdul Karim and federal Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz, when the former called for the federal government to defer the implementation of the tourism tax in the Borneo states.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi later said the spat had been resolved after meeting the Chief Ministers of both Sabah and Sarawak.

Nazri, who tabled the bill in April, said the government stands to collect RM654.62 million through the tax. – July 4, 2017.