Its state chairman, Chong Chieng Jen, said the ministry did not practise any discrimination in the distribution of the tax revenue to Sarawak, Sabah and the other states.

Chong, who is also the deputy domestic trade and consumers affairs minister, was responding to an allegation by Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah that Sarawak had not received its share although Sabah had been paid.

He said Karim had “got it wrong and made a false accusation against the federal government”.

“Upon reading Karim’s statement, I immediately checked with the finance ministry. I was informed the allegation was untrue.

“All the states will only receive their fair share of the tourism tax revenue in the first quarter of 2019,” Chong said in a statement here today.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew also confirmed today that the state had not received its share.

Chong reminded Karim that during the tabling of Budget 2019 on Nov 2 last year, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had said the states would be paid their share this year.

“This is only the first full week of 2019. Accounts have to be verified and finalised and payment arranged.

“Now that Liew has come out to verify that Sabah has also not received its share, what is Karim going to do about his ‘misinformer’ and his subsequent wrongful allegation?”

He gave an assurance that if Sarawak was not paid its share of the tourism tax revenue within the first quarter of this year, he would be the first to raise his objections with the ministry.