By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Aug 3: Sarawak has yet to receive detailed information on the special tourism investment zones announced under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), says Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Responding to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s mention of the zones during the 13MP tabling, Abdul Karim said the initiative appears to be a federal government move, and Sarawak has not been formally briefed on how it would be implemented in the State.
“Honestly, this has been initiated by the federal government. I’m still trying to understand where exactly these tourism zones are, as far as Sarawak is concerned.
“At the moment, I have to admit that I am quite in the dark myself,” he told reporters after attending the closing ceremony of the Youth EdXchange Programme as part of the eMpowering Youths Across ASEAN (eYAA) initiative held at Tegas Digital Village in Samajaya today.
Abdul Karim said Sarawak has been actively promoting many of its destinations as tourism products, without the need for zoning as proposed by the federal authorities.
“Probably under MOTAC (Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture), they have come up with these imaginary zoning areas where more tourism promotion should be done, and then we will see how we can be a part of it.
“But for now, we will continue doing what we have been doing all this while,” he explained.
While welcoming any initiative that can further boost Sarawak’s tourism, Abdul Karim pointed out that the State’s current tourism strategy has already proven successful, with visitor arrivals and tourism receipts showing strong performance this year.
“We have more or less achieved our target of 5 million visitors this year. Every month, our tourism receipts exceed RM1 billion. So if they come up with tourism zones, I would like to see where these tourism zones are,” he said.
Abdul Karim acknowledged that Niah Caves was mentioned as one of the zones, but said such sites are already key parts of Sarawak’s tourism marketing efforts.
“If they’re referring to places like Mulu National Park, Niah Caves, Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) or the Sarawak Delta Geopark, then we’re probably already aligned. But we haven’t been briefed in detail,” he said.
When asked if he has requested a formal briefing, he said not yet, as the announcement was only made recently.
“My officers might have been briefed but not me,” he said.
On Thursday (July 31), Anwar when presenting the 13MP, said focus will be given to the development initiative of the Special Tourism Investment Zones (STIZ), particularly in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Sarawak, through collaboration between the federal government, state governments, the private sector and cooperatives.
These zones will serve as catalysts for the creation of new tourism products, such as tourism based on artistic, cultural and heritage assets, as well as natural attractions like the Lenggong Valley and Niah Caves, which are recognised by UNESCO.
Abdul Karim also responded to the Prime Minister’s plans to enhance socio-economic development for Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Sarawak under 13MP, including support through premises, financial aid and training.
He welcomed the initiative and said Sarawak is open to aligning federal and State programmes for the benefit of local entrepreneurs.
“This is a good effort. Whatever we can accommodate here, we will.
“Sarawak already has our own plans under the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 to build up entrepreneurship. Where federal and State plans can be harmonised, we will harmonise them,” he assured. – DayakDaily
