Datuk Christina Liew
KOTA KINABALU ( Aug 3): State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew wants the Federal Government to empower Sabah to approve and issue the various types of tourism licensing.
She will also continue to raise pertinent issues affecting Sabah’s tourism sector with the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac).
Liew said one such issue is the delay in approving applications for tourism licensing and issuing licences for tourism players in Sabah.
“I have received complaints from applicants that their applications for a new licence or renewal of their existing licence take a long time to be approved by Motac,” she added.
“I was informed that when some of them made inquiries at the Motac Sabah office, they were told to contact Putrajaya directly,” Liew said in a statement on Thursday, following a courtesy call by a delegation from the Malaysia Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA), Sabah Chapter, earlier.
In one particular instance, a member of the Sabah Chapter applied for a licence for his new excursion van, only to be asked to call Putrajaya when he inquired about the status of his application.
“Whenever I call, I get the same answer – it is still under processing in Putrajaya,” the frustrated member lamented.
The delegation comprised MCTA Sabah Chapter chairman Vincent Sia, vice-chairman Amity Wong, treasurer Jimmy Wong Kui Hiung and committee member Julie Wong.
The Sabah Chapter has written a letter to the minister to enlighten her on the problems facing its members, including the illegal operation of unlicensed “white vans” used for transporting tourists.
It was also reported to Liew that a tourism player has been waiting for more than two months just for approval of a change of address and for it to be updated in her tourism operation licence.
In May, she had submitted all the necessary documents to Motac for the change of address after moving office.
Of late, she had called almost every day but to no avail. This is because of the rule that if one’s address is not updated, one will not be able to apply for a licence for one’s excursion bus, for example.
Meanwhile, the delegation invited the minister to launch the Malaysia International Travel Mart (MITM) Fair on August 19 at Suria Sabah here.
In his briefing, Jimmy, who is also the organising chairman, said MCTA last organised the MITM Fair in 2019, after which it was stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It will feature some 49 exhibition booths that will be put up by MCTA members from Sabah, Penang, Selangor, Perak, Labuan, Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan Chapters, among others.
“We will also allocate booths for community-based tour operators, including those from Kiulu and Tambunan to showcase their rural tourism products,” he said.
According to Jimmy, the MITM Fair is a platform for promoting both inbound and outbound tourism, with participation by tourism players from as far as Semporna, Tenom, Kuala Penyu and Kudat.
Also present was the ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary I Mary Malangking.
