Abdul Karim speaks to the press after officiating the inaugural BIGEX 2023. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Feb 22): Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah hopes Budget 2023, set for re-tabling in Parliament this Friday, will see funds allocated for the development of Sarawak’s tourism industry.
The Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister said despite the recent decision by the federal government to reduce the development allocation for MPs, he remains optimistic that the state’s tourism sector will not be left out.
“I don’t expect Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to announce a bigger Budget that the one tabled before this (during the Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration).
“I just hope the tourism industry can get some (funds). With passionate people and agencies driving the tourism industry in the state, the industry can be developed even with a small allocation,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after officiating the inaugural Borneo International Garden Expo Sarawak (BIGEX) 2023 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching yesterday.
Abdul Karim added he is confident that his federal counterpart Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing will prioritise Sarawak when seeking allocations for the latter’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) under Budget 2023.
However, he said any decision on how much funding Motac receives lies with the Finance Ministry and Anwar, who is also Finance Minister.
Within Sarawak, Abdul Karim said his ministry has always received full backing from the state government in terms of funding to run various tourism-related events and activities.
He attributed this to the fact that Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was a former state tourism minister, and hence understood the importance of Sarawak’s tourism industry.
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