Junz Wong
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) has come to the defence of Sarawak minister, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah in the wake of federal minister Nazri Aziz’s scathing attack against his fellow Barisan Nasional (BN) colleague over the tourism tax (TTx).
On Sunday, Nazri, who is Tourism and Culture Minister, lashed out at Karim for urging Putrajaya to defer the TTx, saying it was not in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Nazri said there was no need for Karim to raise the MA63 and the tax was a federal tax.
He also criticised Karim for his lack of seniority as a minister.
“You should not talk big in politics. If you want to show samseng (thuggery), there are bigger samsengs,” Nazri was quoted as saying, adding Karim should have come to see him first if “he didn’t understand”.
But Nazri’s harsh words hasn’t gone down well with Warisan vice president Junz Wong, who sees Nazri’s remarks as a “prime example” of Umno leaders’ “arrogance and ignorance”, especially when it came to matters pertaining to Sabah and Sarawak.
“For Sabah and Sarawak, our contention with the tax, aside from the fact that it is flawed in its mechanism, is that it was bulldozed through by the federal government without any thought or consideration on the impact on the state and its people,” said Junz in a statement issued here today.
“And this is not in line with the spirit of MA63 and speaks volumes of Putrajaya’s hypocrisy when they say that they will honour the MA63.”
He added that Karim was only voicing the concerns of Sarawakians and that this wouldn’t have been necessary if Putrajaya had sought the views of the state governments, industry players and the public.
“I must take my hat off to Karim for despite being in the BN, he has spoken up for the people.
“On the other hand, the Sabah government says it needs to study the matter. What else is there to study?
“The TTx will come into effect on July 1. The Sabah government isn’t even brave enough to state its stand” stressed the Warisan Vice President.
Junz also hit out at Nazri for running the ministry like a “samseng” (thug), adding the Umno Supreme Council member was an “embarrassment”.
“I can’t believe this is the man the government sends out to promote Malaysia to the world,” he said.
The Likas assemblyman also said Nazri shouldn’t try to downplay the impact of the tax in Sabah and Sarawak just because most five-star hotels are in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Not everyone is a BN or Umno minister who stays at five-star hotels. The tax affects even affects non-rated hotels and locals who already have to pay the Goods and Services Tax (GST).”
Junz said Nazri should come down from his ivory tower and pay a visit to hotels in the country to better understand the situation on the ground.
“Perhaps he might even notice that there is more than one hotel in Miri,” said Junz, alluding to Nazri’s claim that there was only one hotel in Miri, Sarawak, when commenting on the city’s opposition to the tax.