Kota Kinabalu: Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah said tourists will not be included under the government’s diesel subsidy scheme, noting that the subsidy is meant for Malaysians and not foreign visitors.
“The benefit from the tourism sector goes to the tourists themselves. So, they are a group we feel is not entitled to subsidy from the money we collect through domestic revenue,” he said.
“When we introduced Budi95 and Budi Diesel, the goal is to subsidise our own people, not foreigners. So, tourists should pay the proper price set for them. That is what we are focusing on,” he said.
He was responding to a question that particularly cooperatives in Sabah claimed to have been left out despite tourism being one of the State’s main revenue contributors.
Amir Hamzah said the government’s priority for the tourism sector lies instead in strengthening infrastructure to attract more visitors.
“What is more important for us in the tourism sector is to look at how to encourage the sector, how we provide good infrastructure that makes it easier for tourists to come to Malaysia, especially to Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
He said this includes expanding and improving efficiency at airports and drawing more airlines to fly into the state.
“When there is more connectivity, more tourists will have the chance to come. How do we boost tourism attraction development here, so that when tourists arrive, they have more choices. If there are more choices, they may extend their stay in the country,” he said, adding that this would benefit the country and make Malaysia more attractive to visitors.
He said this remains the government’s priority in growing the sector, but subsidising tourists directly was not something the government intended to do.
“If you want me to subsidise tourists, that is difficult, because our goal in subsidising is to subsidise our own people, not foreigners,” he said.
