Tourism, arts and culture minister Nancy Shukri said her ministry has requested for RM80 million from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to build the state’s first cultural village in Papar.

She said they were now waiting for EPU to approve the allocation under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Since last year, her ministry has set aside almost RM30 million to maintain and develop tourism spots in the state, she said.

The ministry has also launched the Jejak Seni Malaysia-Sabah (Sabah-Malaysia Arts Trail) programme, an ecosystem mapping exercise to boost the arts industry.

Nancy said 59 strategic locations had been identified so far to promote Sabah public visual arts, including 24 streets filled with vibrant wall murals carried out by local art communities, galleries, schools and tattoo outlets, among others.

“It is part of a recovery plan to expand and generate the economy in Sabah during these hard times.

“It is also part of upgrading work while waiting for the tourists to came back,” she said after the launch of the programme, here.

Nancy was on a five-day working visit to Sabah which was organised by the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).

She also witnessed a memorandum of understanding between her ministry and Universiti Malaysia Sabah to open a one-stop art gallery to promote arts and culture in the state.

The RM15 million gallery, which will be used as an art exhibition centre, was built with a donation from Malaysian banker and businessman Azman Hashim.

Nancy also met Sabah travel agents and stakeholders who had raised concerns over their survival. Nancy gave them a breakdown on how they could benefit from the ongoing National Tourism Policy 2020-2030.

She asked Sabah tourism industry stakeholders to apply for tourism tax and services tax exemptions for hotel accommodation until Dec 31.

She also highlighted that cinema operators and spa operators are allowed to delay payment for monthly income tax for the period from April 1 to Dec 31.