KUCHING: A remark made by Minister of Tourism, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on the tourism tax has sparked mix reactions from many Sarawakians.
Chairman of Sarawak Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC), Paulus Palu Gumbang who is also Batu Danau Assemblyman said that the statement was uncalled for and did not reflect someone worthy of calling himself a senior minister.
“Such attitude does not reflect the spirit of the Barisan Nasional (BN) family and he (Nazri) was rude and arrogant when he called the state’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah ‘setahun jagung’ (greenhorn).
“For Nazri to call Karim ‘setahun jagung’ or rather inexperienced was a form of personal attack.
“Instead of belittling the state minister, he should have instead explained the rationale behind the tourism tax.
“With this being said, we will be right behind Karim as he is right in saying that the tax was only inserted without prior consultation and endorsement from the State Legislative Assembly (DUN),” he said via SMS (text messaging).
Tupong Assemblyman, Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman said that Nazri’s statement was immature and unprofessional.
“It was uncalled for and I hope that after this relationship between the federal and state government can still be maintained for the future generations.
“Our minister was simply voicing the state’s concern on the tax issue and wanted its implementation to be postponed so that further discussions can be made.
“BN practices a more democratic way where criticisms, opinions good or bad are accepted and made into a more constructive motivation,” said Fazzrudin.
He added that the youth today are more vocal with their opinions and are looking forward on how the government will respond to their wishes.
“Therefore, we should always reflect a positive attitude so that our youth will be able to follow suit,” said Fazzrudin.
