http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=9925
Kota Kinabalu: The state Tourism Culture and Environment Ministry is not taking kindly to the emergence of "illegal motels or bed and breakfast outlets".
"There are people who converted their houses illegally and call it homestay. How can you have a homestay in Luyang?
Homestay means an experience living with villagers and at least 10 houses in the village must take part to qualify to be called a homestay.
"If you are alone, living in a brick house, what more a terrace house, and you call that homestay, then that is not right to say the least. That is a motel, not a homestay and mind you, you need approval from City Hall for that," said its Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
"God knows why they do not want to apply for licences. Maybe they don't want to pay income tax, avoid GST, who knows," he said. Masidi also said he had requested Motac to impose heavier penalties on offenders since the RM500 compound is merely a slap on the wrist.
"I suggest you go for the maximum RM50,000. If need be, amend the rules to allow for higher penalty. Our goal is not to stop people from running businesses. But they need to understand that they need to follow the right avenues when doing so," he said.
Earlier in his speech, Masidi also put forward several other proposals to be considered by participants in the seminar.
He said Tourism premises should request tourist guides to produce a copy of their licences before allowing them to bring tourists into the premises to help curb the "white van" problem in the State.
If the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Motac) and industry players agreed to it, he would initiate the move by instructing all tourism spots under his Ministry to implement the new rule.
"If they think it is a good solution, we will be the first to implement it as a way of telling the world that we also walk the talk. It is my hope that we take this licensing issue seriously because we want our industry to grow. White van operators, those who ferry tourists illegally, that is bad for the industry. I want to see the tourism industry become one of the best managed industries and we need to manage it well if we want to do better in the future," he said.
Also present were Motac Sabah Director Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar and Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Vice President – Inbound Datuk K.L. Tan.
He urged illegal operators to obtain the licence needed especially because it is not so difficult to get the licences and Motac is ready to help those who are sincere in operating tourism-related businesses.
He added that the presence of these white vans in Sabah is unfair to the licensed operators who spend years to learn to become bona fide tour guides but found themselves having to compete with unlicensed tour guides who emerged overnight.
Sometimes, said Masidi, the unlicensed tour guides do not have proper knowledge about the business and this would not portray good images to the outsiders.
Other than producing licences prior to being given permission to enter tourism premises, Masidi also urged that the requirement be extended to boat operators that ferry tourists to islands such as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.
"You can easily apply for licence. What are you hiding from? If you are eligible, you should apply. It is not that difficult. If it is, go see Zaki. If it is still difficult, come see me. If some people ask for bribes, come and see me, I will bring you to MACC. We can lodge the report together.
"I think we need to get the industry in order. This is unlike other nations where only the strong win," he said.
Masidi also urged Motac to start a Hotline service so that industry players can reach them easily, adding that it is useless to follow protocols if the job is not done and officers are inaccessible.
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