MACC probing Sabah tour guides protest

KOTA KINABALU - The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will investigate last week's incident at the airport here where local tour guides protested against a tour company for allegedly using illegal foreign guides.

Sabah director Datuk Sazali Salbi said they were gathering information to determine if there was any wrongdoing by tourism-related government agencies as well as those in the private sector.

"If there are any corrupt practices, we will act accordingly," he told reporters at the Sabah MACC Raya open house here Saturday.

It was reported that about 40 people from the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) staged a protest at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport shortly after a chartered flight arrived from China, which they claimed had illegal foreign guides on board.

The Sabah office of the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has since issued a show-cause letter to the 40 guides, including its president Grace Leong, over their action. It has since been disclosed that the three guides in the tour group were properly licensed.

Sazali said the investigations were part of efforts to clear any stumbling blocks that could obstruct the tourism sector in Sabah, a major source of revenue for the state.