Before engaging in any more talks with Putrajaya on the subject, Sarawak is awaiting the Sabah government’s final position on whether or not tourism should be included in the Federal Constitution’s concurrent list.
According to Datuk Sebastian Ting, the State Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts, the Sarawak government has consistently maintained that the Constitution should be changed to transfer tourism from the federal list to the concurrent list in the Ninth Schedule.
But he added that the Sabah administration has suggested that tourism be removed from the Ninth Schedule’s categories and kept as a residual issue.
“On October 13 of last year, a follow-up conversation was started between the chambers of state attorneys general for Sarawak and Sabah to settle the matter.
During question time on Thursday, May 9, he informed the Sarawak Legislative Assembly, “We are waiting for the Sabah government to finalize 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.”
According to Ting, the government of Sarawak is still dedicated to pursuing and defending the state’s unique rights and status as stated in MA63, as well as the desires of Sarawakians for increased autonomy.
He claimed that once tourism was included in the concurrent list, Sarawak would be able to enact its tourism-related laws.
