Sarawak exits Malaysia Tourism Board

Sarawak has withdrawn its sole representative from the Malaysia Tourism Board (MTB).

In a statement, Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office explained: “The state government deems that the participation of its representative in Tourism Malaysia is not necessary, as (it duplicates) the role and functions of the Sarawak Tourism Board.”

Bako National Park, Sarawak

A source told TTG Asia that the board was not involved in policy making and having a representation was not “critically important”.

The decision was made by the chief minister of Sarawak Abang Johari Open and was not due to the recent spat with Malaysian tourism and culture minister Nazri Abdul Aziz over the tourism tax issue, according to Sarawak State tourism, arts, culture, youth and sports minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah in a report by the Borneo Post.

He was also quoted in the same report as saying that MTB has “not been doing much for Sarawak. We might as well help ourselves through the Sarawak Tourism Board.”

Abdul Karim felt that the federal government should have consulted with the state first before pushing the tourism tax on Sarawak.

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