KOTA KINABALU: Budget 2024 can be said to be a mixed blessing for Sabah.
MCA Sabah State Liaison Committee Chairman Lu Yen Tun in a statement said for local tourism operators and the related industries, tourism forms an important segment of Sabah’s economy and reap considerable income for local residents yearly.
He stated that in the recently announced Budget 2024, the government intends to up the sales and service tax (SST) to 8% from the existing 6%. Besides pushing up inflation, tourism as a service industry will definitely be significantly affected.
“In an immediate impact, businesses will pass on the cost of the higher tax rates unto consumers or tourists. The resulting climb in the prices of tourist-related products and services will affect tourist consumption sentiment,” he said.
However, on the other hand, Budget 2024 also offers a ray of sunshine for Sabah. With the planned Visit Malaysia Year 2026, the government aims to attract 26.1 million tourists and a target of earning RM97.6 billion in domestic and foreign tourist revenue.
As the islands off Sabah are Malaysia’s leading snorkeling and scuba-diving getaways, while Mount Kinabalu continues to attract mountaineers from the world over, VMY2024 will further promote the development of Sabah’s tourism sector whereby the industry’s players will also benefit, he opined.
“Meanwhile, Sabahans are also more concerned about our basic amenities such as roads, in particular, the Pan Borneo Highway, and the progress of water and electricity supply-related projects. Although the Prime Minister has promised to decentralise certain allocations, the progress of projects could be expedited. Any delays will erode public trust in the government.”
With upgrades to basic amenities in addition to improvements in people’s living standards, foreign investments will similarly continue to pour in and enhance the state’s domestic economic development in tandem. As Sabahans hold the highest expectations for progress in the state, it is hoped that Putrajaya will disburse the allocation soonest possible to propel the relevant projects, he said.-pr/BNN
